Liar, Liar Ace on Fire
by RebelzHeart
Summary: Ace wasn't very good at telling the truth. To himself, to Luffy, or to anybody else. But then the Whitebeard pirates came into the picture. And Ace wants to lie to them, because they're his enemies. But they're kinder than he expected... And maybe, for once, Ace can be honest.
1. Goodbye to the Past

Ace had never been very good at telling the truth.

He was good at lying. To strangers, to his brothers, and most of all, to himself. It was easy to dismiss his feelings and push away others, ignoring the hollow pain that tinged in his chest every so often.

Replacing everything with anger was as easy as breathing. Except with his family. At first, with Luffy, it had been easy to see him as a nuisance, to just push him away and block the innocent rubber boy from his heart. His shields were firmly in place.

But then Luffy had told him that despite everything, he had wanted Ace to live. Even after Ace tried to kill him. Even after he discovered that Ace was the son of _that man_. Even when he realized how useless Ace was—after he learned that his so-called 'strong older brother' wasn't even good enough to save his other brother.

But other than Luffy, it was still easy to lie. When his crew joined, he lied and said he was an orphan with no family. Said that he couldn't care less about Gol D. Roger. Hid his narcolepsy for as long as he could (after his 'death'… those idiots, putting him in a coffin without checking his pulse… it was a little harder to hide). Ace had lied a million ways and had a million more ways to lie.

So sitting near the railing of an enemy ship, it was easy to lie.

"Are you hungry?" The annoying orange haired chef—Thatch, was it?—sat down next to him, placing a bowl of soup on the ground.

"Not hungry." Ace answered, ignoring the way that his stomach grumbled in protest.

Thatch raised an eyebrow. "I think that your body would think otherwise." He answered with a slight frown. "If you don't eat up soon, you'll be in big danger."

"I'll be fine." Ace replied coldly. "Besides, how would I know that it isn't poisoned?"

Thatch groaned, exasperated. "Haven't we been through this before?" He muttered sourly under his breath, before pointedly taking a sip of the soup, a bite of the bread, and cutting out a portion of the meat before shoving it between his lips. "There." He mumbled through a mouth full of food. "Happy?"

"No." Ace answered.

Thatch scowled. "Why not?" He asked rhetorically.

Ace made a vague gesture. "How can I be?" He demanded. "You _kidnapped_ me! I don't want to be here, and besides, why would I do something that would leave me indebted to my enemies?"

"You make a good point." Thatch agreed. "But we're not your enemies."

Ace snorted. "That's what they all say." He answered. _And they're all a bunch of no good liars._ He added mentally. _All except Luffy, that is._

Sure, they'd get along well at first, but after a while they'd learn what he truly was, and they'd abandon him. After all, nobody would accept someone with the blood of _that man_ running through him.

Thatch studied Ace's face with a peculiar type of curiosity, and then frowned slightly, as though he had discovered something but didn't particularly like what he had discovered, before he stood up and declared boldly, "Perhaps they're lying, but we're not. We'll accept you, no matter what."

Ace snorted. "I doubt it." He answered icily, before standing up and walking away.

"Why so sour?" Thatch called out after him. "Your crew seems to adore you, so surely you're not so surly with them. There's no need to be so cruel to us, we'll all good people here."

Ace froze. "Where's my crew?" He demanded.

Thatch smiled. "We'll send them off tomorrow, so today's your last chance to talk with them. Would you like to see them?"

Ace hated giving in… but his crew… they had worked so hard to help him achieve his dream. "Where's my crew?" He repeated angrily.

Thatch's smile widened, as though Ace talking to him was a good thing or something. He picked up the tray of food and held it out. "The information's quite important." He noted airily. "It'll cost you." Ace frowned, and Thatch's smile just continued to grow wider. "You have to finish all this food first."

Ace's features twisted in confusion, and then morphed into paranoid suspicion, but he took the food and gulped it down anyways. Maybe it was poisoned, but he owed this much to his crew. _I was so stupid._ He realized. _So, so stupid._ But Ace had always been pretty stupid, hadn't he?

0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick was fond of his captain. Quite fond, in fact. So fond, that he had been stupid enough to challenge the Whitebeard Pirates because his captain had mentioned it seemed fun.

Oh, sure he had tried to talk his captain down, but something pained flashed across his captain's features, and all he could say in the end were words of agreement and half hearted warnings.

His captain, idiot that he was, obviously got captured. So Nick gathered up the rest of the Spade Pirates and they stupidly decided to challenge the Whitebeard Pirates _again_ , without their captain, who was by far their strongest member. In hindsight, that was an incredibly idiotic decision that should have killed them.

But it didn't. And there was Captain Ace in front of them, alive and well (although slightly more irritated than he had been before, though that was for obvious reasons), scowling slightly at the red haired Whitebeard until the man finally held up both hands in surrender and left them in peace.

If it weren't so terrifying to see the infamous man in flesh and didn't feel so unrealistically dizzying, Nick would have laughed at the sight. "So, captain, how have you been doing?" He asked when they were left to brooding silence. _I told you that he was the strongest man in the world._ He mentally added. _Why didn't you listen?_

"Fine." Ace answered, his voice clipped and short, before he added distantly, "And you?"

Nick's heart clenched in pain. Ace only spoke so politely when his guard was up, and the only time he had spoken like that with Nick was when they had first met. "Better, now that I can see you." He answered with a slightly forced smile. "You seem tired. Been fending off sleep attacks lately?" Ace rarely seemed tired, since as soon as he felt that way his body would force him to sleep, so he only seemed tired when he fought off his narcolepsy.

Ace shrugged, looking away slightly. "Can't sleep around enemies." He answered.

 _Maybe they_ aren't _enemies._ Nick wanted to say. _Maybe they're kind people—after all, they didn't kill us even when we attacked them. They're not so cold hearted… not as much as we'd like to think, anyways._ Looking into the faces of his crewmates, he could tell they wanted to say it too, but nobody dared for fear that it would make Captain Ace clam up again.

"We're not your enemies." Nick offered weakly.

Ace gave him a tired smile, one that Nick rarely saw on the man who usually seemed so carefree and empty headed. "Of course you aren't." He answered in an assuring voice, as though speaking with a child. "You're my crew, after all." His gaze swept across all of them. "You're all the people I chose." _You guys are special._

Nick smiled proudly, and he could see the other members smiling too. "We'll help you take down Whitebeard!" He declared boldly. Nick knew it was stupid to say, that it was incredibly idiotic… but it was worth the wide smile on Ace's face. "Maybe not immediately, but we'll train to be much, much stronger! Right, guys?"

"Yeah!" The rest of the crew declared, all leaping to their feet.

Ace's smile softened, before he answered, "I know you guys would." Nick's heart plummeted at those words. He knew what would come after. "But you can't."

"Why?" His voice sounded weak and tiny, even to his own ears. " _Why not?" Stop._ A tiny voice in his head told him. _You're going to explode._ But Nick couldn't find it in himself to care as his voice rose in anger. "Why can't you trust us with these things!? You just decided this, out of the blue—and then you don't even have faith that we're loyal enough to stay with you to the end? Why do you always _have_ to do things by yourself!? How come you won't tell us? Just— _one word._ One word is all we need." All his adrenaline faded away and he repeated. "Just one word, captain. What do you have to lose?"

Ace's hands folded together, and he looked away, pained. "I'm sorry." He replied. "It's just that… I…" He seemed like he was about to say something, but that look of pain— _why? He's not the one who's own captain won't even trust him with a secret—_ fluttered across his face and he said nothing.

Silence reigned over them.

Finally Ace stood up. "I do trust you." He finally said, his voice pained but firm. "But this is my own fight—this is something I need to do. I'm a stupid person, and I'm fairly useless… so… thank you for having me." He bowed. "But it's about time you started chasing your own dreams instead of following me on my stupid whims. I…" Regret flashed across Ace's features as he started to walk away. "It was fun while it lasted."

For a moment, Nick could feel only numbness, like he had been dunked in ice cold water and was drowning.

"No!" He could hear his voice screaming as he stood up and chased Ace. "No! You can't do this to us! You're our _captain_ … Ace! Stop it, dammit! Don't—" The door closed behind Ace. "…go." Nick could hear the other members of the crew shouting as well, but all he could feel was that cold, numb shock. _Why_?

0o0o0o0o0

"Are you sure that it was a good decision? Your crewmates all looked pretty heartbroken."

Ace barely looked up as he shut the door shut behind him. "You were listening?" He tried to muster enough energy to feel angry, but all he could feel was a hollow hole gnawing into being in his chest.

Thatch shrugged. "I was going to leave, but your conversation seemed quite interesting, so I decided to listen in a little." He answered sheepishly, but his grin dubbed him as unrepentant. Ace frowned at him, before walking away. "Oi, oi!" Thatch quickly chased after Ace, before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Why'd you do that? Your crew seems devastated… don't you care about them?"

Ace froze, and he offered Thatch an icy glare. "My affairs and the affairs of my crew are none of your business. Besides, they aren't even my crew anymore—we've just disbanded, didn't you hear?"

"Yes, I suppose." Thatch agreed. "But what do you mean, this was your fight alone? That's stupid, you don't seem to have any history between you and Oyaji—so why do something as stupid as challenge him? On a whim? Why would you disband on a whim? You said a lot of weird stuff too, back then… like thanking them for having you?" He snorted. "How stupid is that? I mean obviously they really care about you… so why act so distant?"

"Do you ever shut up?" Ace interrupted, sounding irritated. "Or are you just naturally stupid?"

"Naturally stupid." Thatch replied wittily in reply, already used to his brothers teasing him about his airheaded personality. "Anyways, you're avoiding the real question. What the heck was that all about? Why did you act like that to your crew? And don't give me that 'they're not my crew anymore' crap, because we both know that it's not true—at least not to them, and not to you as long as you care about them as much as you seem to."

Ace eyed him cautiously, before he answered, "Maybe you think that I care about them more than I actually do." It was carefully calculated, but Thatch could tell that it was a lie, and a half hearted one at that. "Besides…" Ace added again. "It's none of your business."

"But…"

Ace turned and walked away, ignoring Thatch's protests.

Watching the teen's retreating back, Thatch's curiosity gnawed at him. _Why's he so distant?_ He wondered in frustration.

 _He won't find out._ Ace decided confidently. _First of all, he's too stupid._ And besides, Ace was very good at lying.

 **A/N:** I kind of like this. At first I intended for this to just be a one shot, but now... I dunno. If you want me to continue, follow the story and I'll know, I guess. Or just PM me if you don't like it enough to follow it... Anyways, anyone else watch Ace die years ago and still feel sad every time you hear the word "Ace"?


	2. Hello to the Beginning

**A/N:** The response to chapter 1 was… overwhelming. You guys are awesome. Warning: This fic will have a lot of fluff.

As they lined up to get served their breakfast, Haruta asked Thatch (who was serving her crepe at the time), "I heard that when his crew was shipped off this morning, the new kid didn't even bat an eye or see them off. Isn't that cold? You've talked to the kid, right? Have you got any idea why?"

Thatch snorted. "Talked isn't the right word." He answered sourly. "It was more like me trying to talk, and him insulting me with every other breath. I just don't get him. He's so…" Frustrated, he made a vague gesture, but it seemed even Thatch didn't understand why. "He says enough to get me curious, then leaves me hanging. His expression is so honest, but it doesn't reveal enough. He's an enigma, for sure."

The corners of Haruta's lips lifted in amusement, and she patted Thatch's arm. "Well, good luck." She answered brightly. "Gimme that plate you set up for him, will ya? I'm curious now about what the kid's like. I'll bring him his breakfast."

Thatch blinked in faux wide eyed wonder. "What do you mean, a plate set up for him?" He asked innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about." But at Haruta's disbelieving look, he sheepishly handed over a plate with bacon, crepes, and a piece of toast that had egg in the middle. "How'd you know?" He wondered out loud.

Haruta snickered. "Oh, please, you're the biggest softie on the ship… well, other than Pops, that is."

Thatch pouted. "I'm the terror of the seas!" He argued, and struck a pose. "I'm one of the great commanders of _the_ Whitebeard's ship! Marines cower at the mention of my name! And I'm _soft!?_ "

"Yes, yes you are." Haruta answered amicably. "Now, are you going to serve poor Namur, or keep posing until I leave?" Thatch turned bright pink and sheepishly turned to serve Namur, who had been patiently (though his patience was somewhat reluctant) waiting for his crepes, already used to the antics of their Head Chef.

Humming as she made her way out of the cafeteria, Haruta half walked, half skipped over towards the living quarters. Ace had been hastily given a spare room to sleep in, and although he had scowled and ignored them when he showed it to them Haruta thought that maybe Ace was a tsundere.

…Alright, probably not, but hey, you never knew, right?

"Breakfast incoming!" She yelled as she kicked the door lightly. "Open the door!" She paused, and quickly added, "Please!" Absentmindedly, Haruta wondered whether or not Ace even knew what manners were, but quickly shoved the thought away. After all, that wasn't a good way to think about a future brother.

When silence was her only answer, Haruta figured 'what the heck' and decided to kick the door down. Scowling when she realized that the room was empty, Haruta slid the food trays onto the table (just in case Ace decided to come back to his room—although judging from the state of the bed, he hadn't been in there at all), and left to play a one sided game of hide and seek.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ace wasn't all that great with goodbyes. So as his crew left, he just watched quietly from afar. And after they left, he just sat there, watching the spot where they used to be. Regret tugged at the edge of his consciousness as he wondered, _shouldn't you have at least said goodbye?_

But he already had yesterday… so it was alright, really. If he went back and said goodbye again, he'd probably just seem weak. And besides… Ace gave out nothing but bad luck, so why bother associating with people?

 _That's right. All you can do is hurt others._ He reminded himself. Because Sabo met him, he had to go back to that trapped life—and he'd been murdered, too, because Ace had been too weak. Ace was no good with Luffy, who had cried when Sabo died. Ace had just stood there, numbly holding his little brother, uselessly standing there, silent as he tried to get himself together. Sabo and Luffy would have been much better off without him.

"Hey." Brown hair popped into his vision, followed by wide eyes and a plate full of food. "Are you sulking or something? I heard you didn't even see your crew off. Man, is that cold or what? And now you're sulking over it? Shame on you!"

Ace glared at her. "I'm not sulking." He replied angrily.

"Hm?" The girl frowned, looking confused. "Then what _are_ you doing?"

Ace thought for a moment. _What would make her go away?_ He wondered idly. "I'm trying to avoid annoying people like you." He answered with a scowl.

"Oh, you really _are_ cold." She smiled as she placed the plates on the deck. "Did nobody ever teach you manners? I'm just trying to get acquainted with our new little brother."

The thought of three red sake cups sitting on a tree stump flashed momentarily in Ace's mind. "Well, I don't really want you as my older sister." He answered. "Besides, how would you know that you're older than me?"

The girl giggled. "Oh, I'm fairly sure." She scrutinized him for a moment before wondering out loud, "How old are you anyways? 15? 16?"

"I'm almost 18." Ace declared angrily. _Do I really look that young?_

"Oh, you are?" Looking surprised, she tucked a piece of her long brown hair behind her ear. "Wow, you're older than I thought. Still pretty young, though." She made a face. "I feel old now. Yuck. Anyways, I'm 26, almost a decade older than you. So, _ha!_ I'm the older sister!"

Ace could feel his face turning red as his ears began to heat up. "I already told you! I don't need you guys for family! Why the #$% would I want stupid people like you as family anyways!?"

She stared at him for a moment, before wondering out loud, in the most serious voice that she could muster, "Ace, are you actually a tsundere?"

For a moment, Ace stared at her, and then he exploded in fury. " _What!?_ " He demanded as his face began to turn bright red. "I—no— _what_!? Tsundere?" He spluttered, his cheeks turning brighter and brighter. "Are you _mental_!?"

Haruta giggled. That had been a different reaction than she had been expecting, but amusing all the same. (She had expected him to try to kill her, but he was really adorable when he was embarrassed too…) "Well, some say that I'm crazy." She answered amicably. "But I prefer the term mentally unstable. You know, just because I have one or two issues doesn't mean that I'm insane!" She paused, and added under her breath. "Probably."

"Figures." Ace snorted. "This ship is full of nut jobs." He stood up, and eying her cautiously, backed away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Haruta demanded, before pointing at the food trays on the deck. "If you're going to go, at least bring the food that I brought you."

"I'm going anywhere you aren't." Ace answered. "You probably aren't aware of this, but most people prefer not to be in the company of their enemies. And also, I don't want the food. I bet it tastes gross anyways."

Later, Haruta swore that it was just a gut reaction. She hadn't really meant to do it, she just… did. In a flash, she had gone from her comfortable spot on the railing to holding her sword under Ace's chin. "I dare you to say that again." She hissed in an ice cold voice, unconsciously beginning to leak some killer intent.

Ace's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I bet your stupid food tastes gross." He repeated, before his body melted into flames and they whizzed over to a spot a few feet away from Haruta. "And you say you aren't my enemy?" He scoffed. "Ha! What a joke." Shoving his hands into his pockets, he stormed off.

As she slowly slid her sword back into it's rightful place, Haruta's stomach churned.

 _I'm so, so stupid._

0o0o0o0o0o0

The next time that Marco saw Thatch, he was going to skin him, put his oh-so-precious hair in a blender, 'trim' his nails with bullet, and make sushi with it while Thatch began to turn into a pile of bones, organs, and blood vessals. Alright, fine, he probably wouldn't do that to his most annoying—er—energetic brother.

But mark his words, Marco was going to make Thatch pay. That time that Thatch had cried all week because Haruta had forced him to watch Titanic (this was because she didn't want to be the only one sulking)? That would be nothing compared to the amount of tears that Thatch would use up once Marco was done with him.

 _That idiot, dumping all this paperwork on me!_

Gritting his teeth, Marco glared at the white piles of paper, which had doubled since two minutes ago. _The #$% !? Going to see the new kid isn't a good enough excuse—does that idiot understand the meaning of responsibility, or is he just too brainless to read!?_

He had been working for hours. He had finally finished. And then a certain orange haired chef had just barged in, and dumped his paperwork on Marco with a cheery "Thanksbrototallyoweyounowbyehavefun!".

Someone was going to die.

Preferably Thatch.

"Marco-chaaaaan!" A loud and whiny voice called out.

"STOP CALLING ME MARCO-CHAN!" Marco demanded, whirling around. There were only two people in the world that called him Marco-chan. Thatch and… "Haruta?" Blinking, Marco stared curiously at his sobbing (a tad overdramatically) sister. "What's wrong?" He paused. "If this is about Thatch ruining your prank by pulling a cooler one _again_ , we've already been over this! You're a commander, so you should be doing more responsible things than pulling pranks anyways."

"No, no, it's not that." Haruta waved his concern off uncaringly. "Although I _am_ still sad about that. Why'd you bring it up, Marco-chan? It was something very important to me, you know. You should know that I was really disappointed when people stopped being mad at me only two seconds after the greatest prank of my lifetime was pulled. Anyways, I have a totally different issue."

Her flippant attitude disappeared immediately and was quickly replaced by her (fake) tears.

"You have to help me, Marco-chan!"

Sighing slightly as he massaged his temples, (he could feel a headache… he loved Haruta, he really did, but it had been a long day and he didn't feel like comforting her over something like Namur stealing her candy again,) Marco reluctantly asked, "What happened?"

"Ace hates me!" Haruta sobbed.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Ace doesn't hate you, Haruta, it's just that after getting pranked most people find themselves in a state of temporary anger—wait, isn't Ace the name of the new kid?"

"Yeah." Haruta nodded, still teary. "He hates me because I nearly killed him! What do I do to make him start liking me?"

"Haruta," Marco started slowly, "You _do_ understand that Ace hates _everyone_ on the ship, right? Including Oyaji, who he's trying to kill?"

Haruta nodded. "Yeah." She agreed. "So, what?"

Marco's head was starting to hurt. "So, it's obvious that he'll hate you if he never liked you in the first place."

Haruta frowned. "But I nearly killed him, so he hates me even more than everyone else!" She argued. "How do I make him hate me less?"

"Haruta…" Marco needed a break. But he decided to be patient. "So, how'd you nearly kill him?"

"Well, it was more of a gut reaction, really…"

Listening to Haruta ramble on, Marco could feel his brain beginning to die.

Oh, well.

Family was worth it anyways.

 **A/N:** Sorry about the awful chapter. Question: Why do people have to be mean? Please answer, I want to know.


	3. Goodbye to Old Family

Marco liked to think that he was a good older brother.

He went along with the childish antics of his family most of the time (coughThatchandHarutacough), he spoiled other family members rotten (though he always claimed those were in moments of foolishness, everyone else knew that it merely meant he was a softy), and although he claimed to be doing it out of duty, he was the one who always tried to reach out the most to newbies. And even a few minutes ago, he allowed his brain to turn to mush in order to listen to Haruta's "problems".

And now, because he was a good older brother, he was standing awkwardly next to Ace, who had somehow gotten onto the crow's nest without anyone noticing, in order to find out if Ace really hated Haruta or not. _This is_ definitely _not necessary._ Marco decided, his eye twitching as Ace glared at him. So why was he doing it?

"Are you trying to recruit me, too?" Ace asked coldly, a slight frown tugging on the corners of his lips. "Because honestly, I'm sick of watching you guys pretend to be the good guys."

Marco could feel himself beginning to frown as well. "Pretend?" He echoed with a scowl. "We're not pretending. We really are the good guys. After all, you were the one who attacked us first, right? We're not the ones who initiated, and we're still being nice to you even though you're trying to kill us."

"No one would act the way that you guys are in this situation." Ace snarled. "There's only one person who can still want to reach out to someone after that person tried to kill them, and you're definitely not him."

Marco found this a little curious. Did this mean that Ace had tried to kill someone else, who had tried to reach out to him? Did Ace actually succeed in killing this man, or did the man succeed in reaching out to Ace?

No, now wasn't the time for such thoughts. "Well, that seems a little narrow minded, doesn't it?" Marco retorted. _What does Pops see in this guy, anyways?_ "I mean, just because one person does something doesn't mean others can't do it either."

Ace snorted. "True. But you don't seem to be idiotic enough to do what _he_ does."

Marco spread out his hands. _Looks like it's time for a bluff._ "I'm 'idiotic' (as you put it) enough to come up here without my weapon of choice, aren't I? And you claim to be an enemy. I'd say that's quite a risk."

For a moment, Ace looked uneasy as a flash of shock fluttered over his features. "I thought that you were a devil fruit user." He answered cautiously. "You know, with you being Whitebeard's right hand man and all."

The corners of his lips twitched up traitorously. "Is that what they're calling me nowadays?" Marco wondered out loud, amused. "No, I'm not Pops' right hand man. He doesn't need one. All he needs is family. I'm just one of his many sons."

A strange emotion seemed to pass over Ace's face, but it passed so quickly that Marco couldn't identify it. "But you are the first division commander." Ace countered. "Wouldn't that say that Whitebeard trusts you enough to put you in charge of so many of his men?"

"Sons." Marco corrected absentmindedly. "Just calling them men makes them sound expendable, and less precious than they truly are. And there's no difference between the first or tenth division, the numbers are just there so we won't mix them up. And it's not just he trusts me—he trusts all of us, equally. It's simply that I've acquired enough power that Pops thinks in times of danger, I can help protect those I'm responsible for. We all have different jobs—the cooks, the nurses, and everyone else. Just because I'm trusted in battle doesn't mean I'm trusted in other things… First Division Commander is merely a title. Nothing more, and nothing less."

Ace looked thoughtful. "A title, eh?" He pondered. "Like chef, or swordsman?"

"Exactly." Marco agreed, feeling a little pleased at the realization that something he said had gotten through to the freckled teen.

"So, if Whitebeard died…" Ace's cold grey eyes met Marco's, "Would you take over as the new captain, or would you draw lots among the commanders?"

Marco frowned. "Well, when Pops dies of old age, we'll probably disband." He answered slowly. "Nobody can replace Pops—not even the Commanders. After all, you can't replace your father with a brother, right?"

Ace's fingers traced the edge of his cowboy hat, casting a dark shadow over his pale face. His lips pressed together and his eyes hardened, as though he were dissatisfied, and he gritted out, "Wrong." Before he leaped off the crow's nest, flames trailing out from after him as he safely landed on the deck, shouts of surprise coming from below.

A brooding thought was beginning to tug at the edge of Marco's consciousness. _Wrong?_ He wondered. _What does he mean by that?_

It was only later while he was still contemplating Ace's words that he realized that he had forgotten to ask Ace whether or not he hated Haruta. _No use asking now._ He mentally groaned. _After all, Ace probably hates_ me _now even more than Haruta thinks he hates her._

0o0o0o0o0o0

 _After all, you can't replace your father with a brother, right?_

Marco was wrong. Definitely wrong. Ace felt his fingers begin to trace the familiar 'S' tattooed into his arm, not even needing a mirror anymore after long nights of practice after waking up from nightmares without Luffy.

 _I don't need a father._ Ace had decided that a long time ago. _All I need are my brothers…_ No, his brother. He only needed Luffy. Sabo was gone a long time ago. Ace had decided to grow up, to look after Luffy by himself… _Why did Sabo die?_ Ace sometimes wondered. _Why didn't I die?_

Luffy would have been happier if Sabo had lived, and Ace had died. Nobody needed Ace, after all.

Sabo could be more mature than most adults were at times. Sure, he was loud, annoying at times, and goofy, but there were also times where he was just quiet and… he seemed a little far away, too. When someone got hurt, Sabo was there to help. When Luffy got scared, Sabo comforted him.

Sabo would have been a really great father.

 _If only he'd grown up. If only he'd fallen in love with a girl, and got married. If only he actually survived to_ have _a kid…_ But he couldn't. He never would be able to, because Ace was an idiot, pathetic excuse for a brother who couldn't even realize that Sabo had been feeling lonely.

Luffy had wondered. Luffy had thought that Sabo must have missed them. But Ace had told him Sabo was happier as a trapped bird in a cage… Why had Ace told him that? _Why was I so stupid?_

It hurt to think about Sabo, and the freedom that he had always wanted but would never be able to have. It hurt to think about Luffy, and how he was working so hard for his impossible dream while Ace was already beginning to give up. It hurt the most to think about himself, and what a mess he always made.

 _I always mess up. I always make the stupidest mistakes. I always make others feel bad._

He couldn't smile anymore.

Ace's breath caught in his throat. _You have to be happy enough for two people._ He remembered Makino joking. _I think that if you're happy, Sabo will be happier too._

He couldn't feel happy.

As a numb feeling washed over his body, Ace thought, _Luffy. I want to see him smile._

Crying was a lot easier than smiling.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Soooo… you went to see Ace?" Thatch asked as Marco stumbled into the kitchen, still thoroughly confused by Ace's declaration that somehow he was 'wrong'.

"How'd you guess?" Marco mumbled as he took a seat on a nearby stool.

Thatch smirked. "Lucky guess." He answered in a teasing voice. "Actually, Haruta came and whined about how Ace must've hated her. I told her to tell you, and she said she already did, so I figured you'd go and see whether or not the kid _really hated_ her."

"Wait, so I wasn't good enough at comforting her?" Marco asked, pretending to be wounded. "And she needed you to fix her broken heart when I turned out to be useless?"

The orange haired chef cackled. "Oh, you were just fine." He assured Marco. "It's just that she needed someone who was overdramatic enough to sob with her, not someone to quietly empathize and comfort her like you do."

"I see." Marco rolled his eyes. "So she went to find the biggest drama queen on the ship?"

"Drama _king_." Thatch corrected Marco. "And yes, yes she did. She also wanted to find the greatest chef in the world for some soothing hot chocolate." Picking up a saucepan, he tipped some into a blue cup and offered it to Marco. "I made some extra, because I figured you would need some too, after talking to him."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "After talking to him?" He prodded. "What's wrong with Ace?"

"Oh, nothing." Thatch hummed distractedly as he poured himself a cup of hot chocolate. "It's just that he's a little hard to wrap your mind around. For someone who likes logic and sense as much as you do, I figured that you might need something to relax you a little. Would you like a marshmallow?"

"Sure." Marco held up his cup as Thatch dumped a cup of marshmallows into his hot chocolate. "He's not exactly hard to wrap your brain around, he's just…" He paused, searching for the right word. "I don't know. Smart, I suppose, but he's not just smart, he's more… curious."

"There's nothing wrong with curiosity, I suppose." Thatch remarked.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Marco noted neutrally as he took a sip of his drink. "This is too sweet."

"But satisfaction brought it back." Thatch countered. "And besides, Haruta likes sweet things."

"And stupidity killed it again." Marco sighed. "Do you have some more milk I could put in here?"

As he pulled out some milk from their walk-in fridge, Thatch tossed Marco a scowl. "Are we still talking about the cat here?" He asked as he poured the milk into Marco's cup and stirred it with a spoon.

"I don't know." Marco frowned into his cup, before taking another sip. "Are we?"

Thatch sighed. "Never mind Ace being hard to understand, you're impossible!" He groaned. "I'm going to find Haruta. When you leave, do you mind tossing the milk back into the fridge for me?"

"Go do it yourself." Marco snorted. "Stop being so lazy."

"Hmph!" Thatch pouted. "You're too lazy to help your dear brother put the milk back in the fridge!"

As Thatch placed the milk back where it belonged, Marco wondered out loud, "Thatch, do you think that a brother could replace a father?"

Thatch seemed to freeze. He stared at Marco in confusion, and finally said slowly, "I think that, in certain circumstances, anything would be possible. So perhaps, for others, a brother could become a father figure for them, but…" Thatch chewed on his lower lip, still looking thoughtful. "For me, not one of my brothers could replace Pops." He stared at Marco. "Not even you."

"But only for _you_?" Marco prodded curiously.

"I can't speak for the others." Thatch shrugged. "But I'm guessing that they feel the same."

"I see." Marco sighed. "Alright, then." He stood up. _We all feel this way, but maybe… maybe Ace feels differently._

He paused. _Or maybe Ace is just an idiot._

 **A/N:** I'm sososososo sorry! I know, this was an awful chapter, everyone was OOC, everything was all over the place, I'm horrible… I'll now commit seppuku…


	4. Vengance on Mrs Annoying

**A/N:** I was about to commit seppuku, and then I realized that committing suicide over something like fanfiction was stupid. **Question: Would you rather Ace join the crew now, or at the end of this fic?**

Namur had always known that Haruta was an idiot, but he also knew that she was a sensitive idiot, and that was even _worse_ than just being a normal idiot.

"You need to stop sulking." He sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. "Ace hates _all_ of us, and he probably doesn't hate you any more than he hates me."

"You're just trying to make me feel better, like everyone else!" Haruta sobbed. "The only one who actually tried to prove his point was Marco-chan, and look at how depressed he is now! You just don't get what it's like to be hated by Ace!"

Namur sweat dropped. "He hates _all_ of us." He repeated. "He tried to kill Oyaji for the 57th time today, remember? He's not exactly going to be all peaches and cream, you know."

"Of course he's not." Haruta stopped crying to roll her eyes in a 'well, duh' kind of way. "If he was peaches and cream he'd be edible, and I'd eat him, and everything would be fine. But he's _human_ , Namur! Which sucks!"

Namur rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll go and tell him to stop being human." He answered in the flattest voice possible. "Because, you know, choosing what species you are is totally possible. Of course he's human! What do you want him to be, a piece of wood?"

Haruta stuck out her bottom lip in a sulk, her eyes narrowing in irritation. "Of course not, but the fact that he's human means that he can hate me! Being able to choose your own emotions is fine and all, but it sucks when he chooses to be mad at me!"

Namur really needed something to face wall against. _'Why don't you go comfort Haruta? After all, she's your sweet little sister! What could possibly go wrong? Family bonding time! Cheers!' Why did I ever think that!? I should've known it would be just like babysitting—er—quality time with Thatch. Awful._

"Well, then do you want him to be a robot that keeps saying 'I love you, Haruta-nee-chan'!?" Namur demanded. "You can't exactly force Ace to love you."

"I know!" Haruta answered, sounding frustrated. "It's just so… irritating, you know?"

Namur sighed. "Yeah." He agreed, thinking back to all the times he wished that he could force those stupid humans into understanding that he wasn't just a stupidly oversized fish brained creature. "I know what you mean. But you have to accept it sooner or later… you get used to it after a while."

"I refuse!" Haruta snapped, standing up as she pumped a fist in the air. "He's going to like me! …And until he does, I'll—I'll…" She paused, looking thoughtful as she attempted to think of a 'punishment' that wouldn't cause Ace to hate her even more than she was under the impression he already did. "I'll follow him around!"

"Seriously?" The need to face wall felt stronger than ever now. "Your solution to the fact that you're delusional and think that Ace hates you more than the rest of us is to visibly _stalk him_?"

"Well, it's not really stalking if he can see me." Haruta seemed compelled to correct him. "It's more like… escorting him around the ship."

"Escorting him?" Namur groaned. "Look, Haruta, I know that you spend a lot of time with Thatch, but his stupidity shouldn't be this contagious."

"Are you calling me stupid?" Haruta demanded, crossing her arms with a slight sulk as her voice rose, becoming louder and more defensive. "Look, this is a _great_ idea! I mean, look at the time that Thatch followed Marco until he… er… threw him off the ship… okay, bad example. But what about the time that Thatch followed Vista until Vista threatened to… make him a bald… er… okay, another bad example. But then Thatch followed _you_ until you... you know, for some reason, following people around seems to have a bad outcome around Thatch."

Namur decided that the need to face wall was too strong to resist, and since there weren't any walls around, he face palmed. "Look, Haruta, it's not just Thatch—although he _is_ annoying—it's anyone. I don't know if you know this or not, but stalking tends to be looked down upon as creepy and weird."

"Nonsense." Haruta waved a hand flippantly. "It's a genius plan that will totally work! And to prove it to you, you can come around with me too! A pretty good offer, if I do say so myself."

"Do you know what logic is?" Namur demanded. "It's this five letter word that represents all that is sensible and right in the world. Logic is something that you don't even have a millimeter of, and need to get!"

"I'm very logical." Haruta sulked, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly. "You're being stupid, I'm being smart, you're wrong, I'm right, you think it won't work, I _know_ it will, there! Logic!"

 _Why do I even go within 100 meters of Haruta again?_ Namur wondered. _Why do I talk to her? Why do I even bother listening to her?_ "That's not logic." He muttered sourly under his breath. _Why bother? Haruta won't get it. She'll just give me even more anti-logic. Why?_

"Psh, you just don't understand what logic is." Haruta replied.

 _No, I do._ You're _the one who doesn't get it!_ Namur felt the inexplicable urge to cry, face wall, and throttle Haruta, all at the same time.

"Anyways." Haruta decided to move on past the topic of logic. "Following Ace. Let's go do it already!"

"But I don't want to—" Namur started to protest when Haruta started dragging him along. "Wait! No! Heeeelllp!" He called out desperately to his brothers and sisters, but they seemed too afraid that they would also be caught up in Haruta's scheme of the day to help. _Cowards._ Namur inwardly seethed, ignoring the fact that he would probably do the same in their position. "HEEELLLP!"

And weirdly enough, at that moment, help came in the form of Ace.

Well, sure, he was on fire and screaming death threats at Oyaji, but Namur ignored that. For now, at least.

0o0o0o0o0o0

As he felt his body being hurtled through the air for what felt like the millionth time, Ace cried that he would have vengeance on Whitebeard and idly wondered where he was going to land this time.

Perhaps the boiler room again. That had been great. Nobody had even noticed he was there, because he had been hiding in the flames, and when he let his body reappear again—man, the looks on their faces had been _hilarious_! He wished that Luffy had been there to see it.

As long as it wasn't the ocean, he mused. That was no fun, since he was useless in there, and hated the weak and useless feeling that the sea offered him.

 _The sea's the only place where I can be free._ He mused. _But it's also the place where I can't do anything._ Ace had always hated irony.

And just as he was thinking about how stupid irony was and how poetry could be damned, Ace crashed into the brown haired girl. Not that he had known at the time, of course, since it's pretty hard to tell where you're falling when you're being hurtled backwards midair at an incredible speed.

"OMPH!" She tumbled over, and the pale skinned… well, Ace would assume he was a man, but he couldn't be quite sure… next to her quickly scrambled away.

"Ah, sorry about that." Ace quickly stood up and peered absentmindedly at the direction where Whitebeard had been. "Wow, is the old man strong or what?" He grinned. "But I'm going to beat him, so I guess I'll have to be even stronger than _that_!"

"Hah! Like you could beat Oyaji!" The pale skinned—yeah, he probably wasn't human, Ace decided as he took in the sight of the gills and teeth—fishman laughed. "He's the strongest man in the world, and you're still wet behind the ears."

Ace glared at him. "I'll get him, one of these days." He answered determinedly.

"No offense intended," The brown haired girl rolled her eyes as she stood up. "But I seriously doubt it. You're weak, and pretty young, too. Whole pirate armadas have challenged us… and Oyaji could beat them all with his eyes closed."

"Not me." Ace replied. "I'll be the one who finally defeats him."

"You're not the first one who said that, and you won't be the last." The girl answered. "You probably can't even beat me, how could you possibly beat Oyaji?"

"I can totally beat you!" Ace replied stubbornly. "And not just you either! I'm going to beat the old man, too!"

"Sure you are." The girl answered sarcastically. "How about this? You duel with me, and if you win, you can keep trying to defeat Oyaji. But if _I_ win, then you join our family."

Ace snorted. "Why would I do something as stupid as that?" He asked.

"Oh, and here I was thinking that you were confident…" Haruta baited him teasingly. "But I guess that you're too chicken to fight me. Wouldn't want to risk your reputation, after all…"

Ace scowled. "I could totally beat you!" He yelled impulsively. "Fine, I'll fight you!"

"Hm…" A thoughtful look crossed Haruta's features. "On second thought, I don't really like fighting weaklings. Let's do it some other time, like when you come to your senses and join the family."

"What!?" Ace spluttered. "You little—!"

Giggling, Haruta skipped over to the fishman who she'd been talking with before Ace crashed into her. "Namur, want to duel?" She asked him cheerfully.

"You little—" Ace growled.

"Bye-bye~!" Waving cheerily at him, Haruta linked arms with the fishman and dragged him away.

 _That little…_ Ace decided that if he ever chose to stop trying to kill Whitebeard, he'd swear vengeance and try to kill Haruta instead.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I thought that you wanted to get Ace to like you, not hate you more." Namur sighed.

"I did!" Haruta started crying crocodile tears as she stuck her bottom lip out in a sulk. "I was going to be nice to him and then he acted like that and suddenly I just felt the urge to antagonize him and… do you think he hates me for doing that, Namur?"

For a brief moment, Namur considered trying to comfort Haruta. Then he decided that it wasn't worth it, and she would be annoying either way. "Yes, he's probably vowing vengeance on you as we speak." He answered dryly. "What on earth compelled you to challenge him to a duel, only to belittle him and cancel it?"

"I couldn't help it!" Haruta whined. "Antagonizing people is in my blood!"

Namur raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" He demanded. " _That's_ your excuse?"

"Do _you_ have a better one?" Haruta asked hopefully.

"I don't _need_ an excuse!" Namur answered, frustrated. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

Haruta wrinkled her nose. "Blah, blah, blah. Your excuse is that you didn't do anything wrong? Psh, that's lame. Even Marco's smart enough to not use an excuse like _that_."

"It's not an excuse!" Namur protested. "It's the _truth_!"

"Tell it to the judge." Haruta rolled her eyes.

Namur seriously wanted to throttle her. Never mind the fact that Oyaji would disapprove and he'd be branded a traitor and hunted down his entire life, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. "When did you become this annoying?" He wondered.

"When I met our charming fourth division commander." Haruta answered cheerily. "And I'm proud to say that I'm almost at the point where I've surpassed him! Of course, he's still the master of annoyingness, but not for long…" She rubbed her hands together and cackled evilly.

Namur face walled. _I don't understand my family. Why did I choose to have_ this _as a sister? What stupid, brainless state of mind was I in when I decided that we'd get along well?_

Haruta just continued to cackle evilly.


	5. When Mrs Annoying Irritates Ace

Jozu was seriously getting sick of the new kid. Sure, he'd been cute at first with all his 'I'm going to kill you!' and the fact that he was 1000 years too early to even think about touching Oyaji, but after the 72nd time he destroyed the ship Jozu just couldn't find the humor in the situation anymore.

So, he'd gone to the most annoying person on the ship to see if he could stop being irritated with the new kid and instead use his brother as a catalyst.

"I see." Thatch mused. "So, Ace is getting on your nerves so much that you've come to _me_ and not Haruta to use as a replacement to be annoyed at? I see. Alright, first, let's see how good your threatening skills are. I wouldn't want to waste my time on annoying you only for you to give me some lame, Curiel type threat. Seriously, he won't fix my doorknob when it breaks? Talk about lame."

Jozu rolled his eyes as his mind drifted off to the one time where Thatch had 'helped' Marco to find his inner threatening side. "I'll throw your hair gel over the railing if you don't help me." He deadpanned.

"Oh, you're awful." Thatch gasped. "Almost as bad as Namur."

Honestly, this guy was absolutely hopeless. "Alright, now that _that's_ done and over with, would you please start annoying me already?"

"I dunno." Thatch shrugged thoughtfully. "I mean, I'd love to annoy you and all, but I was also planning to make some chocolate… after Easter, I've been feeling this hungry gnawing in my stomach for a while. And not just for food either… I've got a separate stomach for desserts."

"You're not serious." Jozu exclaimed in disbelief. "You're choosing chocolate over me trying to kill you?"

Thatch shrugged. "Well, while having my brothers trying to kill me is great fun and all, it's something that always happens, you know? So I figured I'd take a break from it for a while. And if you're too annoyed with Ace, why don't you just talk to him?"

"Talk to _him_? The one that I feel like strangling?" Jozu echoed. "Why on earth would I do that? All he says is 'hn' and glares and when he _doesn't_ do that he's declaring how he'll defeat Oyaji!"

Thatch hummed as he pulled out a tray of fudge from the fridge. "Well, he's deeper than that. I say he's just plain paranoid, but Haruta says he's a tsundere, and Marco says that the kid's an enigma. He seems to be acting differently around anyone… who knows, maybe he'll give _you_ some valuable info that can help us recruit him."

"The sooner he decides to join us, the better." Jozu grumbled. "I'm sick of cleaning his messes. And you're useless! You're not even annoying me!"

"Aren't I?" Thatch asked, faking shock. "But you're getting riled up, Jo-chan."

Jozu paused, too used to his brother's nicknames to get mad at being called Jo-chan (at least Thatch wasn't yelling 'ooh! Shiny! Marco, look, it's a shiny!' every time he walked by anymore). "You're right!" He realized. "But I'm still annoyed with the new kid."

Thatch shrugged. "You can't expect me to work miracles." He answered as he popped a piece of fudge in his mouth. "Want some?"

For a moment, Jozu thought about declining, but he accepted it. "I'm going to talk to the kid. I guess I'll need lots of energy."

"And endorphins!" Thatch chirped. "Chocolate makes you happy." He popped another piece in his mouth before handing the tray to Jozu. "Do you mind giving this to Oyaji while you're at it? Aria will let you in if you give her half the tray—but only offer her one small piece." Thatch shuddered. "She's ruthless when it comes to bargains."

Chuckling, Jozu nodded. "Alright. Know where I can find the new kid?"

Thatch looked thoughtful. "Haruta probably knows. She's been following him around until he starts liking her—but honestly, I think that he's just going to get even more annoyed with her." He chuckled. "Tell her that, alright? I tried, but she won't listen to me." He sobbed dramatically. "My little sister doesn't trust me…"

Jozu rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll go find Haruta then, alright?"

Thatch nodded. "That seems to be a good idea."

"Right." Jozu said dubiously. He popped a piece of fudge in his mouth and marched off to find his annoying little sister (though at this moment if he found her he'd feel quite satisfied).

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ace had been stalked—many, _many_ times. The most prominent example in his mind being Luffy. But no matter how many times it happened, he still found it just as annoying as ever. "For the last time, Haruta, _stop following me!"_ He exclaimed.

Oh sure, it'd been alright the first two milliseconds. But after that it quickly got tiring.

Haruta pouted. "But Ace, you've got to see how awesome I am!" She declared. "I don't want my newest little brother to think that I'm insane or something crazy like that… I want you to adore me like Na-chan does!"

Ace scrunched up his nose. "Na-chan?" He repeated. "You mean the guy with the number '8' tattooed on his neck that kept face walling after he had a conversation with you?"

Haruta frowned. "You're describing an awful lot of people, Ace-chan. All of the 8th division has the number 8 tattooed somewhere on his body—oh, but you can't see Mu-chan's because his is tattooed on his…" She paused, and a disgusted look flickered over her features. "Actually, you know, what? Never mind."

Ace frowned. "Where is his tattoo—oh." He coughed as his mind caught up with the implications that Haruta was making. "I—why did he do that?"

Haruta shrugged. "Rumor has it he made a bet with Thatch while he was drunk." She made a _tsk_ ing sound with her tongue, looking for a moment strangely like Marco. "Everyone _knows_ that only idiots would do _that_."

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Ace's lips. "I take it that Thatch seems to be someone you don't mess with?" He asked curiously.

Haruta snorted. "He'll mess with you whether you like it or not." She chuckled. "He's the most childish guy around. Even if he weren't a division commander, I think he'd still be pretty infamous on the ship." She smiled at Ace. "Trust me, Ace, try not to get him mad. He gets his revenge by whip creaming all your shoes and washing your clothes in maple syrup—most of us have learned that the hard way."

"I've already gotten him mad, haven't I?" Ace asked curiously. "I mean, I've tried to kill Whitebeard—who knows how many times."

"Marco-chan knows." Haruta offered quickly. "He knows just about everything on this ship."

Ace frowned in concentration, "Is Marco the guy with the pineapple hair?" He finally asked.

Haruta's cheeks puffed out in an obvious attempt not to laugh, and finally she turned away, figure shaking as she burst into giggles. " _YES_!" She cheered. "Finally, someone who understands!"

"Understands _what?"_ Jozu's small head popped up in between them, followed quickly by his broad shoulders.

"That Marco's head looks like a pineapple, of course!" Haruta exclaimed in delight. She looked as exhilarated as if someone had told her that she could eat all the junk food she wanted and still maintain perfect health. "The rest of you are all like 'nooo, it looks like a flower, and even if it looked like a pineapple Marco would kill us for saying that'. So boring. But this guy!" She clapped a hand against Ace's back, beaming. "This guy finally understands the truth!"

"Finally?" Ace snorted. "You weren't even trying to convert me to your weird nonsense in the first place. And besides that, I'd rather not share anything in common with someone like _you_."

Haruta stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Aw, Ace, are you bored of me already?" She sniffed. "And here I thought that we had something going that would last—I had thought that we would always be together…"

Jozu expected Ace's answer to be edged with fury, but a confused, almost boyish look settled on his features instead. "What does _that_ mean?" He asked, bewildered. "I barely know you!" And that was when Jozu realized that Ace was _truly_ an idiot. Not an overconfident one, but an oblivious one.

"It _means_ that you have the insensitivity to _break up with me_!" Haruta cried in overdramatic accusation.

Flames lit to life on the edge of Ace's neck and spread out to lick at the edges of his shoulders as the frown that was already tightening at the edges of his lips turned even tighter. "Are you implying what _I think_ you're implying?" He asked in a voice as cold as ice.

Haruta's teasing smile froze, and it immediately drooped as Jozu face palmed. "Oops." She muttered.

"Weren't you supposed to make him _not_ hate you?" Jozu demanded in exasperation.

"I was." Haruta agreed in a low murmur as Ace stormed off. "But, uh, he's Ace-chan, you know?"

" _I know?"_ Jozu echoed in disbelief. Haruta dipped her head slightly in a nod, and lifted her fingers in a shrug, as though she understood that it was a question but couldn't quite answer it. "You're trying to stop this guy from hating you, yet you keep antagonizing him… are you doing this on purpose, Haruta?"

Haruta mumbled something softly. When Jozu asked her to repeat it, she said in a louder mumble, "I _know_." Her voice sounded a little faded and exhausted. "I know… but… I can't help it. He makes me nervous. I want him to like me, but I don't know how." Her voice began to gain a hard edge now, growing more and more defensive as she spoke. "Haven't you ever felt nervous, Jozu? I always talk like that when I'm nervous… teasing idiots like you helps me cope."

Jozu groaned. _At least she's not upset enough to stop being so annoying._ He thought. "Look, just be… kinder." He wrinkled his nose in distaste of how distant those words seemed. "You're being fine, but Ace is different from us. He needs to open up. With the rest of us, we find that the part about you that we all know and love. If you weren't annoying, I'd be worried. But with Ace, he's a stranger. If you treat him casually, it'll just make him more annoyed."

Haruta slumped to the ground. "Then what do I do?" She asked softly. "I don't want to act distant and polite—that's Marco-chan's job. But I don't want to offend him. What do I do?"

For a moment, Jozu wanted to say _Just be yourself_ but that would contradict what he'd just said. So he just rubbed Haruta's head and answered, "That's something that you'll have to figure out for yourself. We're all trying to reach out to him. Maybe we won't reach him. But if we play our cards right, we'll have a new brother by Christmas."

Haruta made a face. "Christmas is practically a year away." She muttered sourly. "I need him to join sooner than that."

Jozu laughed. "Go ahead. See if you can get through to him. I'll be waiting to see if you do."

Haruta smirked at him. "You can bet on it." She answered confidently. "By the end of the month—no, the _week_ , we'll have a new brother. Just wait and see."

"Of course." Jozu said fondly. As he continued to chatter idly with his little sister, his annoyance with the new kid began to fade away.

Although he was still an idiot. Ace was obviously stupid… but maybe he'd be nice to have as a little brother.

Just maybe, mind you.

 **A/N:** Ugh, is it just me or are the chapters getting worse? I'm sorry! On the other hand, you have a Shanks and Luffy omake, so forgive me? Pleeeease? With a chapter on top?

 **OMAKE: Shanks when Luffy Was 7**

Shanks rubbed a hand over the stump where his arm had once been and wondered idly why he felt not so much as a speck of regret. Maybe because it had been lost saving a nakama, or the satisfaction of knowing he had saved a life. Whatever the case, though it hurt, he didn't want his arm to regrow.

He wanted to remember that powerful feeling of defending someone precious to you.

Had this been what Captain Roger always felt like when he defended his crew? Shanks liked the feeling. It was somewhat similar to pride, he reflected… the same feeling that he had gained when his crew had put their lives on the line for him.

Shanks had never felt so happy having a limb dismembered. (not that he had ever had a limb dismembered, mind you.)

"Hold onto this for me, alright?" He asked Luffy as he set the straw hat onto the boy's head. Parting with the hat didn't feel like all that much of a loss anymore, but it felt more like the seal on an envelope. The handshake on a promise. "Once you're a pirate then you've got to return this to me, okay?"

Luffy rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah." He mumbled, eyes tinged slightly red from crying. "I'll be more than just a silly old pirate. I already told you, I'll be the _King_ of Pirates!"

Shanks laughed. "Yeah, yeah, Anchor, like you could be. You can't swim now, remember? Oh, wait, you never were able to swim anyways…"

Luffy turned bright red. "Sh-shut up." He mumbled, ducking his head in annoyance, though a smile had found it's way to his lips.

Yeah, there it was. That wide, happy smile that Shanks was sure would attract the strongest of pirates—er—marines...

"I've got to be going now." Shanks told Luffy, albeit sadly, an emotion which he quickly brushed off. "It's going to be up to you to protect everyone in Fuusha village and get a lot stronger, okay, kid?"

Luffy nodded as he tipped the hat forwards to hide his tears. "Mmphf." He muttered as Makino handed him a napkin.

For a fleeting second, Shanks wanted to cry as well. To get rid of that feeling, he quickly teased Luffy by telling him that men shouldn't cry and therefore Luffy was still just a little brat. Luffy turned bright red and muttered a dark insult about booze brains and Shanks' head being useless because the words that came from his mouth made no sense because, nope, Luffy was definitely _not_ crying!

Man, was Luffy ever adorable.

"See you in a few years, brat." Shanks said with a farewell wave.

There was a small sniffling sound, then a cry of, "I'M GOING TO BE STRONG! REALLY STRONG! I'M GOING TO BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

"Yeah, okay, kid." Shanks muttered to himself with a light smile. "Whatever you say."


	6. In Which Everyone's Stupid

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update! (Again.) I just finished rereading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell—must read for all fanfiction fans. I got so into it I wasn't able to write—but as soon as I finished I felt more inspired than ever, so don't hold that against it. Anyways, sucky chapter, but I hope you like it anyways?

Ace got mad really easily. Which, he supposed, was stupid since it made him do stupid things, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't Luffy or Sabo, after all.

As Luffy would put it, Ace was Ace. And Luffy didn't seem to want it any other way.

But then again, Luffy was an idiot, so what would he know?

Sighing as he popped another piece of fudge in his mouth—at first he'd been dubious of poison, but after the annoying chef ate one he consented and… well, they were addicting—Ace allowed his finger to light fire as his mind trailed back to what had happened earlier that day, when he'd attacked the fast man.

He _was fast—_ Ace had known that. But he'd stupidly assumed he could beat him.

Closing his eyes, Ace pressed his forehead against the railing of the ship. _I'm such an idiot._ He groaned. Since when had he been so stupidly cocky? Well, since ever, he supposed. But honestly, since when had he started acting like Luffy?

He didn't mean to get _that_ mad… or at least, he was fairly sure he hadn't. Maybe he had. Maybe he had just wanted something to scream at, wanted some way to let his frustrations pour out. It was a stupid little thing to get mad over, really.

Speed Jiru hadn't been trying to offend him, of that he was fairly sure—but he had been in a particularly foul mood that day, and it had just… well, happened.

Besides, fathers had always been a touchy subject for Ace.

Speed Jiru had simply made a stupid comment—something about how Ace had a bad attitude and he needed a father to straighten him out. Offered stupid Whitebeard as an option. He couldn't even remember it exactly.

And what happened after that—that was also a little blurry. He remembered getting mad. Screamed some things that were also quite blurry—and the next thing he knew he was sinking in the sea.

 _I'm so weak._ Ace slowly curled his fingers into a fist, and glared at his fingers as a small flame danced to life on their edges. The breeze from the sea quickly devoured the small sparks though, and they quickly puttered out. Ace gritted his teeth in frustration. _I didn't come here to remind myself how weak I was._ He reminded himself. _I came to prove I was strong… to show Luffy and all the rest of them that my life was worth something._

 _Don't be stupid, Ace._ A small voice in the back of his head that sounded annoyingly similar to Luffy laughed. _You didn't go to prove that. You came out to the sea for freedom—and you already had that. But now you've thrown it away._ The voice in his head seemed wistful. _Why'd you do that, Ace?_

"Because I'm stupid." Ace said out loud, fury at his inability to do anything creeping into his voice. "Because I'm a weak idiot who can't even protect his own brothers."

It was frustrating. Ace hated this—hated how he was weak. _Then grow stronger._ He chided himself.

 _It's not that easy._ He argued, his mind flashing back to that lost feeling of uselessness as he sank into the ocean. The paralyzed feeling of acceptance—acceptance at being weak and useless. _Giving up is much… much easier._

 _No it's not._ A part of him—perhaps the more dominant part, definitely the more stupid part—argued. _If you give up, you lose everything._ Luffy's smile flashed into his mind, and his little brother's confidence that he could show the world who he was—that he could prove how stubborn he was to live felt like a stab to the gut.

 _That's right._ Ace remembered. _I can't give up—not for some stupid pirates, and not for their stupid game of family._

 _I have a real family waiting for me to prove my worth._

0o0o0o0o0o0

Speed Jiru was stupid. Jozu resisted the urge to take after Namur and face wall as he made his way from the infirmary to find the runaway new kid.

That stupid Jiru. He was even worse than Thatch, in some ways. Thatch, at least, was careful with your feelings. Jiru, on the other hand, didn't seem to understand when enough was enough… at least when he was in a sour mood, which was most of the time.

"That blood thirsty, grump of a hollow brained idiot…" He muttered sourly under his breath.

"I hope you're not talking about me." Thatch's head popped into his line of vision and was quickly followed by the rest of his body as the fourth division commander chuckled. "Although if you're thinking along the same lines as everyone else is, you're probably talking about a certain other speedy commander."

"How did you know?" Jozu monotoned in dry irritation. "It couldn't be that Jiru did anything stupid, could it?"

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Cut the guy some slack!" He answered defensively. "So he said something incredibly stupid that will probably set our plans to get the new kid to join our family a few months back—but hey, it's not _that_ big of a deal, right?"

Jozu scowled. "The new kid needs to join, and fast." He answered. "I'm absolutely sick of having to fix the railings! If I have to fix them _one more time_ I'll making them from Adam's wood no matter _what_ Marco says about those stupid budget costs after I made the entire ship from Adam's wood. _Just the railings won't make a difference,_ he said. Hah! The kid's broken them who knows how many times? And Jiru just ensured that it'll take even _longer_ for me to get that stupid chicken to give me permission to get Adam's wood."

Thatch sweat dropped. "So you don't really care about the new kid." He surmised.

"Oh, I care." Jozu answered. "But I care _more_ about getting more free time. You won't believe the amount of paperwork that's building up after this guy came aboard. We're pirates, why do we even have paperwork anyways? It's not like we have anyone to turn it into."

"You know how Ma-chan is." Thatch answered flippantly. "Anyways, are you done complaining yet?"

Shooting him a glare, Jozu sighed, "Yes, I suppose I am." He agreed. "Anyways, Aria wants me to find the new kid. Said something about how he's not recovered yet and needs to stay rested—although I bet that even when I _do_ find him he wouldn't want to come with me."

"You can drag him with you somehow or the other." Thatch chuckled. "Do you know where he is?"

"I'll find him somehow." Jozu answered grimly. "Aria's really sweet, I'd hate to disappoint her."

"And she's also quite scary when she gets angry." Thatch agreed teasingly.

"That too." Jozu agreed with a slight shudder.

Thatch grinned. "Well, I'll let you get back to searching!" He skipped off with a cheery wave. "Good luck!"

"Traitor!" Jozu called back. "If you want me to find him, then help me!"

"Can't hear you!" Thatch called back before racing off.

"Jerk." Jozu scowled and stormed off once again to find the new kid, his mind still on stupid brothers and that idiotic trouble making new kid.

0o0o0o0o0

When light, nimble footsteps followed the creaking of an opening door, Ace resigned himself to his fate. "So, what are you coming here for?" He asked with a resigned sigh. "If it's for an apology, I'm not apologizing to you."

"I didn't come here for _your_ apology." Speed Jiru's nasally voice snapped. "I came here so that you could hear mines."

Oh boy. This was even _worse_ than having to apologize! "It's fine." Ace replied quickly. "Although, if you're really sorry… do you mind untying me?"

Jiru surveyed Ace's situation, his eyes roving over the ropes tying his wrists and ankles to the bedposts, and then laughed. "No, can't." He answered, looking amused. "Aria's quite the force to reckon with if anyone gets injured."

Ace wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I know." He sighed in defeat. "I've _just_ faced her wrath. I hate you all and stuff—but I'm _never_ going against her orders."

Jiru brightened. "So if she tells you to join the crew then…" He was cut off by the glare that seemed to swallow up the room in a flash and stopped talking. Jiru turned bright red. "Sorry." He apologized, abashed. "I just—the thought of having a new little brother is exciting, you know?" At Ace's blank stare, he seemed to deflate. "No, I suppose that you wouldn't know, would you?" He asked in regretful resignation.

"I don't get it." Ace frowned. "Why are you all acting like this? Playing at a family—why are you doing that? Is there some reason for it, or are you all just idiots?"

Jiru frowned. "Playing at a family?" He echoed angrily. "We're not playing—we really _are_ a family. And anyone who says otherwise can give their reasons to the shinigami, for all I care."

"But you're _not_ family." Ace pressed in irritation. "You're not—you're just a big group of stupid misfits who don't have anywhere else to go! You don't share blood, you don't all have the same mother—so you couldn't be family. What you are… it's just a group of close friends at best."

Jiru frowned. "Family isn't people who share blood." He answered softly. "Family is the people who are always there for you, will never abandon you, and cares for you no matter how stupid you are. Family isn't made of the people who you share blood with—family is made of the people you share joy with."

Ace scowled. "Don't be stupid." He snarled. "That's what _friends_ are. Friends are something that you can choose, but you family is predetermined from the moment you're born. Family is fate, something you can't control."

Jiru smiled at Ace as though he knew something that the other boy didn't. "But people can change fate." He argued as his voice assumed a light and teasing fashion. "I did. My fate was to be unable to move, but because of Oyaji I became able to run faster than the wind. Fate isn't something that's predetermined… fate's just a book of unfair rules that you need to break."

"Obviously you've never read a dictionary." Ace snapped with a roll of his eyes. "You and your pretend family are just a bunch of idiots."

Jiru smiled. "Of course we're idiots!" He chirped agreeably. "But you're an idiot too, aren't you? I mean, you're resisting." He smirked. "Family isn't something you need to resist."

He stood up and walked off before Ace's yell of, "YOU'RE NOT MY FAMILY YOU #$ %ING #$%&!"

 **A/N:** Another short chapter. (Sigh) I'm sorry. I know what I want to do… but I need lots of filler until I get there. I hope you like the omake…

 **OMAKE: Ace's Thoughts as He Died (Probably Not…)**

Everything hurt…

He didn't want to close his eyes…

He didn't want to leave… not yet…

Ace still had so much to do.

 _I don't want to die._ He closed his eyes as the pain ate away at his insides. _But… I don't want Luffy to die either…_

There was still so much that he wanted to do. So much that he wanted to say.

 _I want to live._ Was that so selfish? Why did God seem to hate him so much? Forcing him to live when he wanted to die and killing him off when he finally wanted to live… what sin had he committed to make it so that dying had to hurt so much?

 _Oyaji… Luffy… my family… I want more time with them. I want to smile with them and see them smile…_

Dying sucked. But as he saw Luffy… he was crying… but he was alive… he couldn't find himself regretting it. Because even if he was crying now, if Luffy lived, he would smile later. And if he could save Luffy's smile… Ace wouldn't regret this. _I only wish… I could have seen_ it _…_


	7. Evil Infirmaries

**A/N:** Late again… sorry. Question of the Day: Why is it so hard to forgive people?

The first thing that Curiel saw when he walked into the infirmary was the new kid face walling over… and over… and over again.

The first thought that Curiel had after he walked into the infirmary was, _Alright, the new kid's even weirder than the others usually are. I should try to avoid him._

And the first thing that Curiel said after he walked into the infirmary was, "Kid, do yourself a favor and stop giving yourself brain damage. It's not epic to get brain damage."

Ace barely spared him a glance, before he demanded, "Do you know what it feels like to be a devil fruit user that's bound by sea stone for the sake of your _health_!? If this was because someone saw me as a threat or something like that it would be okay. But I'm in here because they want me to be _healthy_." He spat out the word like it was poison. "Kill me now. Please."

Curiel laughed. "As much as I'd love to have an epic spar with you, I can't, little man. The nurse's word's law, you know. Aria-chan can get pretty epic when she's mad, and in a pretty scary way."

Ace scrunched up his nose in a way that was somehow exasperating and adorable at the same time, and he grumbled, "Oh, I know. It's all that anyone would babble about whenever I ask them to free me, but honestly, what could she do? She _seems_ harmless enough."

Curiel smiled. " _Seems_ being the key word here." He agreed. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with the infirmary. Having good health is epically awesome, right? I mean, being sick sucks! You can't do _anything_ at all."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He answered dismissively. "And besides, I don't get sick. I think it's something about how fire is too awesome for the sick animals—or at least that's how my doctor explained it." A pained expression crossed his features as he muttered, "I never thanked him for trying to explain it to me."

Curiel frowned, and something inside his chest tightened. A suddenly uneasy feeling fluttered in his stomach… they had separated Ace from his crew. From his _family._ And they had expected him to just… accept that. "Sorry." He mumbled under his breath, half hoping that Ace wouldn't have heard him.

Unfortunately though, he did. "Sorry for what?" Ace demanded, his personality making a 180 to his normal prickly demeanor. "What did you do?"

Curiel shifted slightly, not quite sure how Ace would take him apologizing for separating him from his crew. "It's just that… well… you're all alone here, right?"

Turning bright red in fury, Ace demanded, "What's _that_ supposed to mean!? If you think that I'm lonely or some stupid #$% like that, I'm _not_."

Curiel cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What's wrong with feeling lonely when you're separated from your nakama?" He asked softly, but Ace had begun glaring at him, so Curiel shook his head before elaborating. "I sorry that we forced you to stay in a place where none of your nakama are." He paused. "But, you know, if you become _my_ nakama…"

"Shut up." Ace groaned. "Seriously, can't you guys give it a rest already? What was that just now, then… some sort of act to butter me up then make me think that you guys aren't so bad and think that it would be okay to join you? Are you stupid or something? I'll _never_ join the likes of you!"

Curiel sighed and smiled slightly. "I guess that any other attempts to get you to join right now won't work, eh?"

"What do you mean _right now_?" Ace demanded. "Not now or ever! You can't make me join you guys no matter what you do!"

"Sure." Curiel stood up and shrugged. "But Oyaji is pretty a fairly epic man. I'm sure that he'll accept you."

"Why don't you go away?" Ace asked frostily.

Curiel glanced at Ace sadly before nodding, "Alright," and left the infirmary.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jozu barely needed to glance at Curiel before asking dryly, "Let me guess, you went to talk to the new kid?"

Curiel, who had looked dejected and mildly offended blinked up at him before a surprised, "How did you know?" escaped his lips.

Haruta, who had been talking with Jozu, giggled. "You've got the look on your face." She replied in amused confidence. "Like you're not quite sure whether you want to hit him because of what he says, or pity him because of how he acts. Ace does that to everyone…" She flipped and held herself onto the railing with one of her hands. "Don't worry about it, 'kay? He's just a snot nose brat… or at least that's what Oyaji says."

Curiel frowned. "He's just a kid." He mumbled. "It's not epic to bring a kid into battle… especially not one like him. He's hotheaded and too young… he doesn't understand the important stuff, not yet, anyways."

"He chose this by himself." Jozu found himself defending the boy, before blinking in surprise at himself, not having expected to have himself say anything positive about the new kid. "He would have been caught up in this already. Besides, he got a pretty good bounty by himself—I read that he even denied becoming a Shichibukai, which means that he was strong enough to get the offer."

"Still." Curiel shook his head. "It's just not right."

"It is." Haruta answered as she pushed herself up and switched hands before flipping back onto the deck. "There are many things that are worse than being a pirate. Besides," She tucked a long strand of her brown hair behind an ear before adding, "I'd much rather have been raised by Oyaji than have grown up anywhere else, no matter how dangerous it is."

"That's true." Curiel agreed. "But we had the choice, the new kid's not getting one."

"He'll come around." Haruta answered flippantly. "They always do."

"But what if he _doesn't_?" Curiel pressed. "We've taken his crew away from him, and forced him to stay on what seems to him like an enemy ship. What if…" He hesitated, before sighing, "What if we're the ones who are in the wrong here?"

He was cut off by a sharp explosion of pain across his cheek.

Jozu stood up in shock. "Haruta, that was uncalled for!" He exclaimed as he quickly caught her wrists to stop her from hitting Curiel again.

Haruta ignored him. "Don't you _dare_ say that." Haruta breathed in fury. "Oyaji decided to have him as a son… to _accept_ him into this amazing life that we're all living! Ace has been given a chance to have the best life possible. He's just being a stupid, pigheaded idiot. You can't doubt Oyaji… you… you idiot!"

Curiel stared at her in amazement as he raised a finger to his cheek. "You—you're right." He answered with a flush. "I'm sorry, Haruta. I didn't mean to…"

"Don't apologize to me." Haruta answered sharply, though her voice was a little hoarse, as though she were trying hard not to cry. "Apologize to Oyaji for doubting him, and then apologize to Ace for thinking that he didn't deserve the freedom that being one of Oyaji's sons can give him."

"You're right." Curiel agreed. "I'll go apologize to him later."

Haruta grinned triumphantly. "Good." She answered. "Now, I'm going to go get some fudge with Jozu—" She paused, and then added childishly, "But _you_ can't have any, because you were acting like a stupid head!" Sticking out her tongue as she skipped off with Jozu's arm linked around her own, Haruta added, "If you want some, you'll have to apologize to them first."

"I don't like fudge, though." Curiel answered in confusion.

"It's okay to be in denial!" Haruta called out cheerfully. "Denying the awesomeness of fudge is kind of stupid, but it's still okay to be in denial!"

"But I don't like fudge." Curiel sighed with a slight groan.

"Denial~!" Haruta repeated in sing song.

"I don't like fudge." Curiel repeated to himself.

"Don't bother!" Jozu called out with a sigh. "Resisting Haruta's like trying to fight Oyaji and _win_. You can't do it!"

Of course he couldn't. But he could try.

After all, giving up was not epic at all.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"FREEDOM!" Ace shouted as he leaped out from the infirmary. "FRESH AIR! Oh, earth, how I love you so!" He crouched down and kissed the ship, before sitting up and realizing where he was and spitting in disgust over the railing of the ship.

"I take it you're happy to be out of there." Marco said in amusement as he followed him out of the infirmary.

Ace glared at him. "Try to put me in there again, and I'll take the chance to test out whether or not this ship is flammable." He answered with a scowl. "That place is _evil_. Kairoseki is evil. You're all evil!"

Marco rolled his eyes. "As much as you may think we are, we're not evil, the infirmary is not evil, and Kairoseki is a moot point. Besides, if you hadn't tried to run away the first hundred times we put you in the infirmary, we wouldn't _have_ to put Kairoseki on you!"

"It was unnecessary!" Ace insisted. "I would have healed up _just fine._ You didn't need to chain me up in that freakish brainwashing white room for me to heal! In fact, I think that the Kairoseki just made it _worse_."

Marco shrugged. "If you hadn't gotten in that fight with Jiru and tried to challenge him to a friendly rematch, this wouldn't have happened." He answered coolly.

"I couldn't help it!" Ace protested. "We had gotten along with each other, and a good way to prove it was to have a nice, manly spar without killing each other?"

"Oh, so I suppose that maiming each other is perfectly fine, then?" Marco asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes." Ace replied with a slight scowl. "Yes, it is."

"You're insufferable." Marco added. "Did you know that?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "You're my enemies." He pointed out. "How am I supposed to _not_ be insufferable? 'Ah, yes, sir, I'd like to kill you. What? Where are my manners? Ah, yes, have some tea. Just so you know, I poisoned it. Don't want to drink it? Where are _your_ manners?'" Ace snorted. "I don't see how I can be sufferable to people like you, anyways."

Marco frowned. "People like us?" He repeated. "I wasn't aware that there was a 'people like us' and there was a separate 'people like _you_ '. Aren't we all pirates? So what's the difference?"

"You can't honestly be asking that question." Ace scowled. "The difference between me and you is as clear as night and day!"

Marco's eyebrows knit themselves together in confusion as he asked, "What is it? I don't see any difference between me and you."

"Stop faking." Ace snapped. "There's one obvious difference between me and you!"

Marco scowled. "I don't see any difference." He replied in frustration. "None of us do. You're just forcing up a barrier as an excuse to isolate yourself from the rest of us."

"You don't get it." Ace repeated, before jamming his fists into his pockets and storming off. "You never will."

 **A/N:** Is it just me, or are these chapters getting shorter and shorter? I'm sorry. Short, bad, _and_ late. I'm awful…

 **OMAKE: When Whitebeard Tries to Hide the Sake**

As soon as the great door leading to Whitebeard's room creaked open, a loud _crash!_ ing sound echoed throughout the ship.

As the door parted more and Aria, the head nurse, stepped in, she looked around in confusion. "Oyaji, what happened?" She asked worriedly. "Did you drop something or hurt yourself somehow?"

Whitebeard, who looked about as innocent as a cat with the mouse's tail still hanging out of it' mouth, smiled nervously. "No, of course not, my dear daughter…" He replied anxiously. "It's nothing, nothing at all… In fact, I'm so fine, I think you don't need to be here. You should leave me here. Alone. Yes, I think that's a good idea."

"Right." Aria replied with a suspicious roll of her eyes. "So, you've been dipping into the sake storage _again_? How many times have I told you that it's not good for your health?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Whitebeard fibbed as he looked away, whistling loudly.

"Of course you don't." Aria replied with a resigned sigh. "And I don't see a giant bottle of sake poking out from under your bed."

"Crap, I was so sure I had it completely covered!" Whitebeard exclaimed in surprise as he quickly ducked his head down.

"So you _did_ have sake!" Aria accused as she marched over and pulled the bottle of sake out. "How could you, Oyaji? We've told you a million times, the sake counteracts the medicine!"

Whitebeard pouted as he reached for it. "My dearest daughter, it's not _that_ —"

"Don't you dare." Aria hissed as she pulled it out of reach. "This stuff is going right overboard!"

"No!" Whitebeard protested. "It's high quality sake!"

"Then all the more better for the fish to enjoy." Aria decided. "This is going, whether you like it or not."

"Buuut—"

"No buts!" Aria marched out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her. When she was sure she was out of sight from her adopted father, she peered inside the bottle and sniffed it. "High quality, eh?" She mused with a slight smile as she tipped the bottle over and started to drink.


	8. The End of a Prologue

**Reply to Guest:** The Whitebeards as a cult… hm.. the idea has potential… haha, unfortunately, no. Haruta just had some bad stuff happen to her, and if it weren't for Whitebeard, she'd probably be dead. (In my head, anyways, since I'm delusional.) I just wanted to show how much she cared about Whitebeard, and show that she can't imagine life without him.

Aikalda Island was a strange place, where all the people sported sharp, vampire like teeth and thick, jagged bones protruded from their backs. While they could thankfully speak Japanese, they had a rough accent and spoke shortly, as though they were trying to decide if you tasted better cooked or boiled.

Nevertheless, when the Moby Dick landed on Aikalda, Ace barely had to let out a joyful whoop before leaping from the ship and laughing excitedly as he climbed onto a nearby tree and plucked one of the large blue fruits that weighed down it's branches.

"I see you're excited." Thatch noted as he pulled himself up beside Ace and plucked one of the fruit as well. He eyeballed it curiously before nodding and noted, "I see, so this island has Jhalns. They taste quite sweet when boiled, but…" He laughed as Ace spat out the bite he had taken and made gagging sounds. "They're extremely bitter when raw."

Ace glared at the laughing chef. "Why didn't you tell me that _before_ I started eating it?" He demanded.

Thatch shrugged, a smirk still tugging at the edges of his lips. "Your face was funny when you ate it." He replied.

"Get ready to die." Ace threatened.

"Why?" Thatch asked with faux innocence lacing his voice. "All I see is a stupid little flame brain little brother who…" He was cut off as Ace flashed towards him in a blur of gold and red. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Thatch laughed as he caught Ace's flaming fist with a haki coated hand, his easygoing smile never leaving his features. "Don't be in such a big rush! As future brothers we…" He was cut off again as Ace's other fist hurtled towards his face. "I've been _trying_ to say," Thatch continued amicably, "You're cute when you're mad."

Poor Ace couldn't take Thatch's teasing anymore, and combusted as anger fueled him on.

"Now, now, Thatch-chan." Haruta chided Thatch as she pulled herself onto a neighboring tree. "Is that really any way to talk to our dearest little Ace-chan? As a big brother, you must be willing to understand, not willing to antagonize, and do everything that your dearest little sister by the name of Haruta commands you to—"

She was cut off by Thatch throwing a Jhaln in her mouth, and gagged.

"That is _gross_." She pouted. "You're the worst big bro ever—in fact, you're not even cool enough to be a bro anymore. You're a _brother._ "

Cue gasp of horror.

"There's a difference?" Marco demanded in exasperated disbelief from his place on the ground.

"Shut up, blue chicken!" Thatch called back down in annoyance. "Just because you'll always be a brother doesn't mean that it's okay for someone of my level to be one!"

"First of all, there isn't a difference." Marco replied. "And second of all, remind me to buy some signal flares later. We ran out a while ago due to a _certain incident…_ " He glared at Thatch, who laughed nervously.

"Of course there's a difference!" Haruta answered, sounding horrified at the thought of someone not knowing the difference between a bro and a brother. "A bro is someone who is epic—a brother is someone who's related."

"So there _is_ no difference." Marco surmised in exhaustion. "And you're all a bunch of idiots."

The response was a Jhaln being thrown at him.

0o0o0o0o0

Ace had never been so fond of Kairoseki—whoever was obviously had to be a lunatic.

Ace had never been so fond of Marines, either—whoever did was obviously just as much a lunatic as Kairoseki lovers.

Ace had never been so fond of the Whitebeard Pirates, either—although now he was rethinking that one, since they _were_ , after all, fighting to save his life and all.

"Will you _please_ stop getting into trouble?" Thatch demanded. "And what the hell made you think getting arrested would be fun?"

"For the _last time_." Ace complained, having long since given up on hurling death threats at the idiot. "I wasn't _trying_ to get arrested. I thought they were innocent kids playing a game!"

Thatch gave him an incredulous look. "They were holding Kairoseki swords and _trying to kill you_!" He exclaimed. "How on earth did that translate to innocent kids playing a _game_!?"

"I knew I was missing something." Ace deadpanned.

"For goodness sake…" Thatch face palmed. "When we meet up with the others again, Marco is going to kill you. Actually, I might kill you first, you little idiot."

"I'm not an idiot." Ace replied. "And besides, I wouldn't have gotten arrested if I hadn't fallen asleep."

"Who falls asleep in the middle of a fight?" Thatch demanded.

"I do." Ace replied defensively. "What's wrong with that?"

"Everything." Thatch groaned.

Ace's nose wrinkled in annoyance. "Now you're just starting to sound like Marco." He accused.

"Dear lord, _no_." Thatch gasped. "How dare you insult my pride like that?"

"Oh, you had pride?" Ace asked snarkily. "I didn't know."

Thatch wagged his finger in Ace's face in irritation. "Look, just because you're bound in Kairoseki chains doesn't give you any excuse to take your annoyances out with the wonderful _moi_."

Ace scowled. "It does." He replied. "It totally does."

"Shut up." Thatch kicked away the last marine, before turning to Ace. "Now, do you want to be free or not?"

"Depends." Ace replied defiantly. "Will I have to keep breathing the same air as the idiot in front of me?"

" _Two seconds_!" Thatch exclaimed in disbelieving self defense. "I look away for _two_ seconds and you got _yourself_ caught—you can't _honestly_ blame me!"

"Consider yourself blamed." Ace replied, still incredibly annoyed with being tied up.

"Oh, now I'm not going to free you." Thatch pouted.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure that your precious Whitebeard-san would be _so_ proud of you for that."

"He'll be fine with it, because you are an idiot!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"AM T—" Thatch was cut off as the blade of a lightening filled sword slammed into his head. Ace's mouth opened into a shout, but no sound came out even as black haki quickly covered Thatch's head and he slammed onto the ground.

"Hah!" A blue haired woman laughed triumphantly as she wrapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. "So what if you're Whitebeard's commander— _I'm_ one of _the_ three admirals, trained by Sengoku himself! You didn't even bother to use Observation because you thought I was weak… oh, how the mighty have fallen."

Her lips curved into a bright smile as she picked up Thatch and reached for Ace.

"Get away from me!" Ace snarled as he attempted to kick at her.

Her laugh just grew louder as he fell over, and she picked him up with frustrating ease. "You're pretty cute." She observed. "Well, the money from Sabaody will probably be even more than your bounty… a famous pirate that's not broken yet seems like a pretty good deal, no? Handsome too…"

"You're psychotic." Ace growled as he wriggled and aimed a sluggish punch at her.

"No." She replied sweetly as she pushed him onto a boat. "I'm just much smarter than you."

And everything turned black.

0o0o0o0o0

There was something… strange happening.

Marco wasn't quite sure what. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, either, it was just that… something felt wrong. He couldn't quite figure it out until…

It felt too quiet.

Not in the sound and noise sense, as it was just as rowdy as to be expected whenever the crewmembers were around, but Marco was paranoid and always used his Observation haki when on islands.

And though he could still feel almost everyone, it had fallen strangely quiet. A voice wasn't enough—maybe two voices had vanished. But two exceptionally loud voices…

Panic blinding him, he sent out a wave of Observation and scanned the area frantically for Oyaji, then the commanders, and the strongest members of the crew.

 _Thatch isn't here… and neither is Ace._

Where were they? They hadn't landed on the island for _too_ long—they must still be nearby. He spread his haki out thin, and Thatch's voice sounded out weakly on his radar.

"Haruta," His voice had already hardened as he scanned the area. "Thatch and Ace are gone, and there's a third party with them. A strong voice, too… I bet it's a marine. Vice Admiral level, if not higher."

Haruta nodded, although the questioning look of panic on her features obviously screamed, _What do you_ mean _, higher!?_ "I'll send out a signal. Oyaji probably has already sent out orders to set sail and follow them."

"How many people are on this island and not on the ship?" Marco asked, quickly calculating in his head how long it should take to round up all the members.

"Around two hundred or so?" Haruta asked weakly. "This isn't good… it'll take _forever_. If we could set up a flare..."

"We ran out of those, remember?" Marco asked, annoyance and frustration lacing his tone. "You round all the people in the nearby area, I'll look from the air."

Haruta's eyebrows drew together for a moment, before she nodded quickly and replied, "Of course!" She hopped nimbly onto one of the roofs of a nearby house, and ignored one of the civilians as she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "BACK TO THE SHIP! WE'VE GOT A CRISIS!"

The slightly drunken pirates peeked up at her, before wild shouting and confusion filled the air and they stampeded back towards the Moby Dick.

 _What the hell, Thatch?_ Haruta wondered as she directed her siblings back towards the ship. _You're a commander. You're a son of Whitebeard. How is it that you can't even protect one little brother?_

Stupid Thatch. As soon as they saved him, Haruta was going to strangle him.

0o0o0o0o0

It was dark, and he felt dizzy.

As Thatch dared to peek outside, an intoxicating scent and frustratingly heavy feeling swam around his body.

Gritting his teeth as he recalled exactly what type of drug he had been fed, Thatch's eyes quickly scanned the area for Ace. _If the others could see me now… see that I've lost Ace…_ His gut churned at the thought. _Oh, Lord, please let the kid be okay…_

There was a slight creaking sound that was followed by a slight click of a door and the crisp sound of steps echoing through the floor boards. "Awake yet, sweetie?" A sickeningly sweet voice asked as Thatch forced his eyes to close and his body to go limp. "Well, what a weakling." The strangely familiar voice huffed as a hand forced itself around Thatch's neck. "And I was so sure that he'd be a nice fight, too. But he was so caught up with that stupid freak of a boy…" There was a disgusted sound, like a grunt. "You're awake, aren't you? Stop fooling around… open up your eyes."

Thatch's breathing slowed steadily as he wearily fought the temptation to attack her and ignore his drugged state.

"Tch. Trying to fool me?" She scoffed. "Fine. I'll go play with the little fire boy some more, then. He still hasn't agreed to go willingly yet, either… even tried to attack me! Being unbroken is nice for nobles who like the rare challenge, but we can't have some wild freak attacking nobles, can we?"

Thatch stayed silent.

There was a slight, tinkling sound, and Thatch realized in disgust that she was _laughing_ , of all things. "Fine. Stay silent. Let's see how you stay down when the little fire boy starts screaming." There was a clacking of footsteps once again, and even though Thatch heard the door close, he stayed quiet.

 _Ace wouldn't scream_. He realized, feeling slightly sick. _He'll stay silent from defiance—and then he'll go mute when he breaks._

 _Oyaji, hurry up and save me!_

 **A/N:** So, apparently some people wanted me to get some plot going, and wanted Ace to join, so... yeah, I'm sorry. It's lame, it's cliché, you want to throw rocks at me… I'll just sulk on what an awful author I am in this corner while you punch this punching bag with my face on it, 'kay? *sighs* Sorry…

 **OMAKE: When Shanks Tries to Recruit Marco**

"Oi, oi, Oyaji, did you hear the news?" As a young, bright eyed Thatch bounded over to Whitebeard with a newspaper in hand, he tossed it onto Whitebeard's lap. "Apparently _the_ Red Hair Shanks is in our area! The news is all freaked out that we'll have a fight…" He paused. "We won't, will we?"

"Of course not, my son." Whitebeard assured Thatch with a slight laugh as he ruffled his son's hair. "He's coming to pay his respects to this old man."

"You're not old." Thatch pouted. "You're just fine, Oyaji!"

"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed. "That red haired brat is coming near, why don't you tell him he's welcome?"

"Alright." Thatch made a gesture to Marco, who nodded and combusted into bright blue flames before taking to the air and sailing over to the Red Force, which was quickly approaching.

Marco sailed over and landed onto the ship with a signal that he came in peace. "Red Hair Shanks, I presume?" He asked drily as he landed in the middle of a group of pirates pointing their weapons at him. "Coming to visit Oyaji, I hear?"

The red haired man sitting near another group turned to Marco and coolly handed another man his drink. "Save that for me, Roo, I'll be right back." He walked smoothly over to Marco and slid a hand into a pocket. "One of Whitebeard's boys, I'll presume?"

Marco nodded, and swallowed slightly as the air stiffened with the frighteningly familiar tension of Haki.

Shanks nodded, his features dark and shadowed and then…

Stars lit his eyes and he gawked and declared, "That was SO COOL! You were like _whoosh_ and _BAM!_ And then you flew on, and you were, like, glowing and stuff and you were BLUE! OMIGOSH YOU WERE BLUE! AND GOLD AND YELLOW AND STUFF AND _THEN_ YOU WERE ALL COOL AND STUFF AND WERE LIKE…" He slouched coolly and lifted a shoulder as his voice deepened, "Red Hair Shanks, I presume." Then his voice returned to it's normal pitch as he shouted, "SO COOL! YOU'VE GOT TO JOIN MY CREW! RIGHT, RIGHT, _RIIIGHT_!?"

Marco shrunk back and raised an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me." He deadpanned.

"No, I'm not!" Shanks replied boyishly. "You'll join my crew, right, Blue Chicken weirdo?"

"What the hell!? NO WAY, YOU FREAK!"

"Pleeeeeaaase!?"

"NO!"

"Please?"

"NO!"

"YOU'VE GOT TO!"

"LEGGO OF ME, YOU WEIRDO!"

"PLEEEEAAASE!?"

"What the—WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUCHING ME!?"

"Join me?"

"NO!"


	9. When Ace Finally Gives In

**Okay, let me first clear some stuff up**. Apparently some of you think that was the ending and it _wasn't_. Nowhere _near_ the ending. This is maybe halfway through? But it doesn't end until much, _much_ later. Sorry about the misunderstanding. **For Reviewers:** Fanfiction is going through weird stuff (or maybe it's just my laptop). Replies will be at the bottom, since I can't reply through the site. Sorry.

It was hard to remember exactly when the last time someone had dared to take one of his children was.

Well, not really. It was exactly eight years, four months, and twenty three days ago, and Whitebeard was still seething over the very memory.

It wasn't hard to remember the possessive rage that had blinded his vision—and it wasn't hard to remember the destructive carnage that had followed.

"Oyaji? Oyaji?" Marco's concerned voice at his side snapped him from the rage filled memory. "We're going."

Whitebeard nodded as he stood up. "Of course." He agreed. Feeling a bit childish, (but couldn't an old man love his family?), he held out a hand to his son. "Humour me and sit on my lap until we get there, Marco. I'm feeling a bit lonely right now."

Marco's eyes filled with understanding as his arms lit pale blue and he sailed up to Whitebeard's lap. "Shall I report?" He asked, and although the words sounded professional, the soft tone of his voice revealed that he already knew the answer.

"No." Whitebeard replied as he wrapped a hand around his son. "Just stay here for a while. How are the others?"

"Doing well, as only to be expected." Marco replied. "Some are quite excited. It's been a while since someone worthy to fight has come along."

"Worthy, indeed." Whitebeard's eyes hardened. "Even death seems too small a punishment for anyone who dares to hurt my family. Not even Sengoku would be able to get away with that, if he so dared."

"But he wouldn't." Marco replied. "Do you know who it is?"

Whitebeard shook his head. "But whoever it is, it's a fool. Look where they're headed, after all."

Marco's features twisted in confusion, but for only a moment before his lips curved into a displeased scowl. "Fools." He hissed, distaste tightening his every feature.

"Fools indeed." Whitebeard agreed. "Do you feel up to a fight, my son? I'm feeling quite bloodthirsty tonight."

0o0o0o0o0

As Ace opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the frustratingly familiar drain of Kairoseki.

The next thing he noticed was the woman standing next to him. "I see you're finally awake." She hummed cheerfully. "Good, I was starting to get worried that you were damaged merchandise... or worse, maybe even dead. I always do hate the weaklings, all they get me is the bounty." Her tongue clicked against her teeth as she took a seat gingerly next to Ace. "I was a little worried, since the man with you was one of Whitebeard's boys, but I was quite relieved to find out that you weren't one of them. All a bunch of weak softies, they are... quite distasteful."

Ace stared at her for a moment, his mind churning away the feeling of hatred he felt at seeing her face as he wondered where he had seen her before. "You're one of the admirals." He realized.

"Indeed, I am!" She laughed and clapped happily as she crouched down and smiled sweetly at him. "I'm so glad you remembered me."

"You would've been happier if I hadn't." Ace growled as his fingers impatiently twisted at the chains.

"No, no, I doubt it." The admiral giggled again, an airy yet disgusting sound. "I'm flattered, really. I'm also quite glad you didn't decide to become a Shichibukai, as it would have taken away a lot of my chances at earning money." She sighed and tucked a piece of blue hair behind her ear. "And what an absolute tradgedy that would have been... although, honestly, with your personality, I'm sure you wouldn't have been protected for too long."

"You're rather garrulous, aren't you?" Ace asked. "How is it that the marines haven't sent you to a mental hospital yet? They must have figured out that it's where someone like you belongs."

"Someone like me?" She huffed indignantly. "How offensive! I'm absolutely loveable, you ought to know. Everyone loves me!"

Ace scowled. "I would love to see you burn up." He snarled.

"I'd love to hear you scream." She replied dreamily.

"You're insane." Ace accused.

A light smile quirked up the edges of her lips, as she sweetly asked with a laugh, "And you aren't?"

"I'm not." Ace replied. "At least, not like you."

"Interesting." She shrugged. "Well, good luck with trying to stay sane. You'll be just like me soon enough. Going insane is much easier than staying sane."

She smiled at him one last time, and began to walk away.

Then the ship exploded, and Whitebeard's voice cut in, "DON'T TOUCH MY SONS!"

There was a moment of eerie silence as cracks spread across the air and through the wood of the ship... and then an explosion of sound as they combusted and water flew into the air.

"ACE!" Whitebeard's shout echoed across the water as he leaped forwards and caught Ace from falling into the water. "Are you alright, son?"

"Fine." Ace replied, stunned. "That was... anti climatic."

A slight smile of relief lit Whitebeard's features. "Yes, I suppose it was." He agreed with a slight laugh. "I'd rather not go through that again, nevertheless."

"I guess not." Ace agreed. "Can we head back to the Moby Dick now?"

"I suppose we could." Whitebeard agreed wryly. "If I could have your permission to officially introduce you as my son."

A conflicted expression crossed Ace's features. "I..." He started, but was cut off by a roar of anger.

"How DARE you destroy my ship and take away my merchandise?" The blue haired admiral's features twisted in rage as she clambered onto the plank of wood that she had been hanging onto. "You'll pay!"

"That has got to be the most cliched villain phrase ever." Ace reflected.

"SHUT UP!" The admiral roared as she dipped a finger into the water. "Reflect on your mistakes in the afterlife."

"Again, cliche." Ace sighed.

"See if it's cliche once you meet Death." The admiral snarled.

"How on earth are you getting all these cliched threats?" Ace wondered.

"DIE!" A fizzing sound popped in the air as a crackling sound reached their ears. The admiral's features twisted in satisfaction as lightening swirled around and into the water. For a moment, the water was still, and then an unearthly sound pierced the air as lightening swirled inside the water.

"Oh, ****." Whitebeard's eyes widened as his arms tightened around Ace. "Ace, I'm going to throw you onto the ship. Stay there and wait for me, okay?"

"Wait for you?" Ace demanded. "What are you going to do? Why can't I help?"

Whitebeard shook his head, picked Ace up, and hurled him through the air. Ace slammed into Marco, who had flown up to catch him. "Stay there for a moment." He commanded them. "And call Namur... Thatch is drowning."

0o0o0o0

The aftermath was quite simple. Ace joined, everyone cheered, Thatch was saved from drowning (but feeling guilty and frustrated for being too weak to save Ace himself), and overall the mood was jolly.

As night fell and most had become too drunk to stay conscious, Ace slipped out towards Whitebeard.

For a moment he simply stared at the giant, unsure whether or not he was awake or not, when one of the man's eyes cracked open and a soft smile spread across his features. "Come here, son."

A lump found itself into his throat at the word... son, it sounded so strange... and for a moment Ace wanted to tell Whitebeard before the reminder that he couldn't, that when he did this wonderful dream of being accepted would fade away, and his feet moved before Ace's brain could catch up completely.

"What does that word mean?" The words slipped out childishly, and he turned bright red in embarrassment.

Whitebeard looked surprised for a moment, before he asked gently, "Do you mean son?" At Ace's flushed nod, he laughed and replied simply, "A son is family."

"Then what is family?" Ace demanded.

"Family…" Whitebeard leaned back and closed his eyes. "Now that's a hard question to answer. Family is too many things to explain in just one night." He sat up and smiled warmly at Ace. "Here's one thing to remember: Family is forever."

"Forever…" Ace swallowed and shook his head. "I don't believe in forever. Forever is just a fairy tale."

Whitebeard offered Ace a sad smile as he replied, "You may not want to believe it, but it's true. Family will always be there for you, will never abandon you, and no matter what—even if you're doing something utterly stupid and pointless, even if the world is against you—family will always be on your side."

Ace stared at Whitebeard for a moment, eyes wide in shock, before he stepped back and shook his head. "No." He answered quietly. "That can't be real. There's no way that you could all—there's _hundreds_ in your family! Are you telling me that they'll all side with me, no matter what?"

Whitebeard frowned. "Perhaps not all of them." He admitted grudgedly. "But I will always be on your side."

"What if two of your children are siding against each other?" Ace asked desperately. "What then? You can't side with both of them!"

Whitebeard laughed. "My children argue, at most, over petty things. Our greatest argument most of the time is whether vodka or bourbon is preferable."

"But what if it's something serious?" Ace asked. "What if—what if one of your sons lied to everyone, and the others wanted nothing to do with him?"

"Well…" Whitebeard's thoughtful expression returned. "I suppose, if something like that happens, it will depend on what he lied about. If it was his past, nobody would hold a grudge. I have faith that my children won't care about the past. But if he did something serious—say, kill a family member without a good reason—then I wouldn't take his side." He leaned forwards. "Whatever you do, I'll forgive you, even if you cut off my limbs. But there's only one thing that I won't forgive—if you kill one of our family, I'll hunt you down even if it's the last thing I do."

Ace stared at him for a moment, his eyes steady yet distant, as though they were trying to see through him. For a moment, a dark look crossed his features, and then finally, a smile broke across Ace's features as he nodded. "I understand." He replied with a laugh. "I think I would feel the same way."

A relieved grin found it's way across Whitebeard's features, and he mimicked Ace's nod. "I know you do." He replied as a booming laugh found it's way out of his throat. "When you sent up that wall of fire to protect your crewmates— _you're_ family—I knew that you'd understand."

Ace looked startled. "That soon?" He asked in shock, and then added hastily, "But they're not my family."

"It's not soon." Whitebeard smiled. "But I decided at that moment that I wanted you to become a part of my family. And even if they weren't your family, I could tell that they were your precious people."

Ace continued staring at Whitebeard for a moment, before he finally asked, "Hey, do you have any blood family on board?"

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow. "Blood family?" He asked. "I don't have anyone who shares my blood in my family, no. But that doesn't matter—we're _all_ children of the sea."

Something that he couldn't quite understand crossed Ace's features, but the boy's chin finally dipped down in a nod. "I see." Ace said softly, and then raised his head. A smile broke over his features. "I've got a little brother, his name's Luffy. I think you would have liked each other."

"Oh?" Whitebeard raised an eyebrow and he patted his leg. "Come, and tell me about him."

Ace climbed up, and his grin grew even bigger as he began, "Well, he's a bit of an idiot, but…"

 **A/N:** Yeah, I know, the rotten tomatoes now are upgraded to rocks. I'm sorry… (I have no excuses… but… I'm not that fond of writing battle scenes, so… yeah?) Being reborn as a slug seems nice… If you were reborn as something, what would you want to be reborn as? (other than a human)

 **REPLIES TO REVIEWS: (PLEASE reply through PM, not review.)**

 **Lunapok:** Sorry for the anticlimactic ending. How do you think I could have made it better?

 **Kitsune Foxfire:** Thanks, although I personally thought it sucked. How do you think I could have improved it? (Also, huge fan.)

 **KamisoraInazumi-chan:** Sure, thanks! Is there any way that you think I could have improved it? (Also, I loved _Luffy's Birthday Special_.)

 **GreenDrkness:** Thanks! Were there any parts that you didn't like?


	10. Welcome to the Whitebeards

As Ace left his room, cheers filled the hallway and streamers were thrown into his face.

For a moment, he merely stared, dumbfounded. Then he pushed a balloon from his face, and raised an eyebrow. "Gee, so when you realized that Whitebeard wasn't going to accidently kill me with his self defense you decided to suffocate me with party decorations?"

There was a ripple of laughter through the crowd as Thatch hooted, "No, we were planning on overdosing you with hugs, actually."

"Great." Ace laughed, and there was a slight muttering among the crowd about a mirage or hallucination. "So, is breakfast ready yet? Because if not, I'm going back into my room and you guys will have to wait another hour."

"There is, there is!" Thatch hurriedly exclaimed, waving his hands to keep Ace from returning to his room. "We've got lots of delicious food to celebrate—although my food's _always_ quite delicious—and we've even got a huge cake that we made to celebrate you joining the crew! All the traditional one hundred layers!"

Ace raised an eyebrow, and he demanded slowly, "You're not serious… are you?"

Thatch straightened and puffed out his chest as he replied haughtily, "Of _course_ I'm serious! With this many brothers and sisters, I've got to be…" He paused, and Thatch's features fell in horrified realization. "But with an appetite like yours, I should have taken into consideration that you'd need a layer all to yourself—and probably the bottom layer too—oh no, I probably need to bake a whole other cake _just_ for you—Edward, Al, get the batter ready, we've got to keep working!"

"Wait—!" Ace started to protest, but Thatch had already dashed off, muttering something under his breath about cake batter and how they needed to start raising chickens to get more eggs.

It prompted someone to make yet another chicken joke about Marco, and before they knew it there was a smooth voice asking, "Is someone talking about me? I thought I heard a Neanderthal utter my name—but, of course, I could be completely wrong."

There was a slight squealing sound, and then dust flew into the air as said Neanderthal raced off.

Ace could have sworn that he saw a smirk settle on Marco's features for a second before he said coolly, "That's what I thought." A small smile flitted across Marco's face as he walked up to Ace and jerked a thumb behind him. "Come on, aren't we going to celebrate you becoming our new little brother?"

Ace cast an amused look at the rest of his newest siblings, and, resisting the urge to laugh, agreed, "Yes, that would be great." He agreed as he stepped up to Marco and started bouncing over towards the Mess Hall. "Come on, I think that's bacon I'm smelling."

A voice piped up from the crowd, "Oh no, Ace is after the bacon! Everyone, run for it before the bacon is all gone!" There was a wild shouting as another voice cried, "Take the eggs, Ace! Leave some of the bacon for us!" A few more shouts escaped the crowd, but it was quickly drowned out by the deafening sound of feet pounding against the floor as the pirates quickly made their way to the mess hall.

"Oh no, you guys don't!" Ace roared as his bottom half combusted and he shot forwards like a rocket. "The bacon is _mines_! It's my celebration, isn't it!?"

There was a general explosion of noise before a booming voice laughed in amusement, "Yes, it is his celebration, isn't it?"

Ace landed on the ground as the stampede suddenly froze and Whitebeard smiled at them from his seat in the mess hall. "Don't worry, you brats, we've got enough for all of you, even including Ace."

Ace bounded over and chirped cheerily, "Thanks, Oyaji."

"Gurarara," Whitebeard laughed as he ruffled Ace's hair fondly. "Don't worry about it. Today's a wonderful day to celebrate, because of you."

Ace blushed, and his grin widened as he replied, "It's not that big of a deal."

Whitebeard laughed again, before replying, "If it's not that big of a deal, then I suppose that we don't need to bake another cake for you, then?"

"Well…" A light smile lit Ace's features. "I guess that it wouldn't hurt so much to have a _little_ bit of cake…"

"Of course it wouldn't!" Thatch cheered. "So get ready to have a party!"

0o0o0o0o0

And so they did. A wild and rambunctious one that made the majority of the crew—correction, all the crew—drunk. (Save the poor souls with devil fruits that prevented them from getting wasted.)

"Want another cup, Ace?" Marco asked cheerfully as he watched Thatch attempt to poorly flirt with Aria, and then knock himself out as he smashed his empty cup against his head.

The fire user glanced at the drink in Marco's hands, before shaking his head. "That stuff is gross." He declared in disgust. "How do you drink it?"

Marco shrugged. "It's an acquired taste, I suppose." He replied wryly as he tipped the cup back. "I was wondering if your being conscious had something to do with your devil fruit, but I suppose it's just because you've only been drinking the punch?"

"I've had some hot chocolate, too." Ace admitted. "But yeah. I took one sip of that stuff before—never again. There's only one time a year I'd even _think_ about doing it, and even then…" A lost expression crossed his features, and he shook his head, eyes distant and regretful. "Never mind."

Marco frowned at him, and opened his mouth to ask, but then closed it again. He knew when not to prod, and figured that Ace would grow to become comfortable with telling them about whatever he was thinking of in time. "So, I heard from Oyaji that you had a younger brother," He began, quickly changing the subject.

Ace's features lit up and he quickly replied, "Yeah, his name is Luffy, he's the most awesome kid ever, and he has black hair and black eyes that make him look even cuter than he is—and he's _super_ cute, trust me—and his hair's kind of messy, but that's only to be expected when you live in a jungle. He has a scar under his eye, and from what Shanks told me it was from when that little idiot _stabbed himself_ —seriously, I'm kind of worried about how he's going to live without me because he's really stupid, but I think that Makino can take care of him but I'm still worried because he's weak, hey, did you know that he had a devil fruit power? It's the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and it give him just about the lamest powers ever but he still thinks that they're cool because he's an idiot, and all he could do is stretch which is so annoying because then he's an anchor but he can't even protect himself! And he didn't even eat it on purpose, he ate it because he thought it was dessert, can you believe that? Shanks got so mad at him, and when I heard about it I really wanted to punch him and—"

As Ace continued to ramble on about his (apparently stupid) little brother, Marco leaned on the railing and let a small smile quirk up the edges of his lips and listened, occasionally nodding or asking something when Ace slowed down for air.

Pretty soon night fell, and though Marco couldn't quite decipher Ace's excited rambling, he found that he wouldn't trade the wide smile on his younger brother's lips for anything in the world.

0o0o0o0o0

Marco had always known that Thatch was an idiot, but he had never known his brother to be _this much_ of an idiot. "What do you think that you're doing with Ace's hat?" He demanded as he watched Thatch hide his stolen prize under the bed.

Thatch rolled his eyes as he shoved a dusty chest in front of the hat, hiding it from view. "You know the answer to that question already." He replied. "All I'm doing is a little initiation for our dearest little brother. It's not a big deal—I bet that he wouldn't even notice!"

Marco raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Sure, he won't notice." He responded sarcastically. "I mean, he _only_ wears it 24/7 and tells everyone else how awesome it is…"

"That's right!" Thatch chirped in agreement. "See, it's not a big deal!"

Marco face palmed. "You're going to get burned." He groaned. "And if Ace happens to choose to spare you… you'll get hung upside down from the flagpole for the rest of the week."

"A week's not so bad." Thatch hummed. "I mean, remember that time when Vista hung me upside down for a month? Now _that_ was awful—Aria had to keep feeding me my food because nobody knew how to undo his knot, until he finally came and just cut the rope with his sword! And the flagpole's not so bad either… remember when Namur kept dunking me in and out of the water for a whole hour until I told him where I put his pants?"

"How are you still alive?" Marco marveled.

"I'm just awesome that way." Thatch responded arrogantly as he pushed a comb through his hair and then spun around with a laugh. "Come on, let's go wake Ace up."

"Wake him up?" Marco echoed in disbelief as they stepped out of Thatch's room. "Are you insane, or are you _that_ desperate to get roasted?"

"Oh please." Thatch scoffed. "You underestimate me, dear brother. I'm a commander for a reason, after all."

"Being a commander isn't going to do anything to stop Ace from giving you the silent treatment or refusing to eat any of the food you make specifically for him." Marco countered. "Are you seriously going to risk all that for a single, stupid prank?" Honestly, he didn't particularly care if Thatch's feelings got hurt or not—or at least, most of the time, he didn't. But Thatch sulked when he was unhappy, and he annoyed Marco, and… well.

"It's not stupid!" Thatch declared defensively. "It's a brilliant masterpiece and…" He paused as they reached the second division's bunks, and called out, "Breakfast's ready!"

They barely had time to step back before a golden blur sped past them, opened the door, and then… skidded to a halt.

Ace blinked at the sunlight uneasily as his eyebrows knit themselves together in confusion. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the sun, then curiously placed a hand gingerly on his head. And then the question of, "Where's my hat?" tumbled out of his lips.

Thatch winked at Marco, before sidling up to Ace and chirping, "Hello, little bro! Where's your hat?" He made a great, dramatic show of looking around for it. "Did you decide not to wear it today?"

"No…" Ace's slow, confused answer came out and he looked as dazed as a drunk. "I thought I had it last night… I could have sworn…" His voice faltered, and the uneasy look returned to his features. "That hat's very important. I hope I didn't lose it…"

Marco watched as Thatch seemed to grow more hesitant about his so called 'masterful work of art', and then asked curiously, "Is that hat important to you?"

"It's a gift." Ace explained. "From my little brother. It's really important to me."

Marco could see the guilt in Thatch's eyes now, as he clapped Ace's back and offered, "You go eat, and I'll go look, okay?"

"I'll go with you…" Ace began, but Thatch cut him off.

"No, no, you eat." Thatch replied. "You need your energy to help me search after you finish eating. The ship's a big place, after all, it may take a whole hour for us to find your hat!"

"Oh, alright." Ace still looked displeased, but went along with it easily enough.

As Thatch retrieved the hat from beneath his bed and presented it to Ace later, Marco muttered under his breath, "You're such a soft chicken."

Thatch stuck out his tongue. "Oh come one." He grumbled. "I'll give him his initiation prank some other day."

Marco simply sighed. "Brothers." He mumbled under his breath, but he was still smiling as he walked over to Ace and began to eat breakfast.

 **A/N:** This chapter was kinda all over the place. Sorry about that. It's short, and bad… yeah…the omake is **mysteryreader6626** 's idea.

 **OMAKE: Thatch's Pink Shirt of Doom**

It started with a bright pink shirt that Thatch had somehow fallen in love with (this started a theory among the Whitebeard crew that their dear brother was colorblind).

"Are you _trying_ to blind us, Thatch?" Haruta demanded as she shielded her eyes from the glowing pink... monstrosity. "Or is this your way of getting revenge for the time that I whip creamed all your shoes?"

Thatch tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean, Haruta?" He asked. "This is my new favorite shirt! I picked it up on the last island we were on. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Maybe if you're colorblind." Vista, who was passing by, muttered under his breath. "And black is a much more manly color... why don't you wear that instead?"

Thatch frowned and puffed up his chest. "What do you mean? Pink is a very many color, thank you very much!"

"It really isn't." Haruta replied. "Heck, with that shade a pink, it's not even a _girly_ color. It's just..." She shuddered.

Just then, a poor crewmember happened to pass by and look at Thatch's shirt. He let out a cry of pain and fell to the deck, clutching his eyes and howling about the horrors of pink.

"What's wrong?" Thatch asked, crouching down.

"I..." The poor soul looked up, and upon seeing Thatch's shirt, screamed shrilly.

"It's the pink." Haruta muttered.

"Run." Vista agreed.

From then on, most of the crew wore sunglasses whenever Thatch was around.


	11. One Step Closer to Family

**A/N:** Okay, just so you know, I really don't like writing plot stuff. (But that's no excuse for my lame last few chapters, sorry about that.) I like working with little plotless bunnies that don't do anything, so if you like plot, do ignore this fic. I don't mean to sound rude or anything (I hope I'm not coming off as rude, since I really do love you guys.), I just want you to know that if I do plot, it will probably stink... and I know it's not all of you who want me to give you plot, but this is just for a few of you… I'll shut up now…

It was a random little question that seemed to just explode… or implode.

Ace had been lounging around with Namur and Haruta, when Haruta curiously asked, "So, Ace, why did you name your crew the _Spade Pirates_?"

For a moment, Ace looked surprised, and the he answered, "Well, my name's Ace. Like number 1 in the playing cards? And a spade is a suite, so…" He trailed off and shrugged. "It's a play on words, I suppose. I thought at the time it'd be kind of funny… I didn't really think about it, to be honest."

"Oh." Haruta nodded, and feel silent for a moment before asking, "In that case, would we be the Jacks, your Oyaji the King, and your mom the queen?"

"What?" Ace blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Haruta shrugged. "Because, like, playing cards, right?"

Ace stared owlishly at her for a moment, and Namur groaned. "Are we seriously talking about real people in _playing card_ terms?"

"What's wrong with that?" Haruta shrugged. "So, your Oyaji's the king, right?"

"He…" Ace looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he gaped blankly at Haruta. "My dad…"

 _Gol D. Roger was the King of Pirates._

 _He was the King of Scum, you mean._

 _If the Pirate King had a son?_

 _He'd be scum, too._

He stood up and shook his head slightly. "So what if he was or is a king? What does it matter anyways?" He demanded angrily.

Haruta blinked at him, stunned. "It was just a joke. I wasn't implying that he was actually…"

"Well, too bad! You shouldn't pry or make stupid jokes like that!" Ace growled and stormed off.

Namur frowned at Ace's retreating back, and then wondered out loud, "Hey, Haruta, are you going after him or what?"

"I… um…" Haruta's smile dropped from her features as she shook her head as though trying to get water out of her ears, and then replied, "I… yeah. Just wait… actually, you know what?" She stood up as well and started to follow Ace. "Don't wait up. Go do whatever… I'll probably take awhile." Haruta turned and raced off before Namur's protests could escape his lips.

Namur frowned as he stood up. "I wonder if she'll be able to solve this issue on her own…" He mused out loud, before shaking his head and sighing. "Nah." This was something that Ace had never brought up before, something important… they needed someone who _didn't_ constantly antagonize their youngest brother.

 _How about… ah, yes._ He _may do… and it'll be the perfect opportunity._

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ace had just made it to his room when his anger dissipated and _the_ worry started to settle in.

 _I can't stay on this ship_. He realized. _I can't stay in a place where they won't truly accept me, where I have to constantly lie…_ Maybe they would accept him. _Maybe they won't care. Maybe they'll be like Luffy and Sabo… they'll say that it doesn't make a difference._

But he was probably just fooling himself and being stupid. That kind of wishful thinking was for idiots… Ace knew that if they found out, his new 'home' probably wouldn't be home for much longer.

 _And even if some of them accepted… then what? Not all of them would accept… it'd be impossible. And besides, even if they did, Whitebeard himself probably never would. He was Gol D. Roger's enemy… there's no way that he could possibly accept the son of his enemy as his own son…_

But despite all the logic churning in his head, Ace wished that Whitebeard _would_ accept him for what he was, and that he'd tell him it didn't matter, and that they really _were_ all Children of the Sea… but that would take a miracle, and Ace didn't believe in those.

The sound of banging broke him out of his thoughts. "Ace? Ace, are you in there?" Haruta's worried voice seeped through the door and for a quick second Ace wondered if he should let her in, but he simply remained silent. "Ace, please answer." Haruta begged. "…Ace?"

"Please go away." Ace replied stiffly. _I'm not ready to face them yet…_ He wasn't ready to reattach that stupid mask, he wasn't ready to tell them the truth… _What a coward._

"Ace," Haruta's voice turned pleading. "I'm sorry if I said something to offend you, because if I did, I didn't mean it! Come out and tell me why, and I'll apologize the right way and we'll never talk about it again, alright? I wasn't even serious, it was just me joking around like always… Ace?"

Ace closed his eyes. "Please, just leave me alone." He sighed quietly.

For a moment, there was silence on the other end, and Ace wondered… he half hoped, half dreaded… if Haruta had really left and decided that Ace wasn't worth it.

Then a soft, but deep voice wondered, "What's wrong, son?"

Ace's eyes widened as he realized who had spoken. _Why is Whitebeard here?_ "There's nothing wrong." He snapped, _Liar._ A voice in his head accused. _Everything's wrong._ "Don't waste time worrying about me."

Whitebeard replied quietly, "Worrying about one of my precious sons isn't a waste of time, Ace. You're important to me, and I want to know what's wrong. If you feel angry with me, or sad about something, tell me. I won't— _none of us_ —will judge you."

 _What pretty words._ Ace closed his eyes. _Too bad they aren't true._ "I'm fine, really." He replied. "Please leave me alone."

"I'm afraid that I can't do that." Whitebeard sighed. "You're my son. I can't leave you alone when something's obviously upsetting you."

Frustration built up inside of Ace as he yelled, "Just leave me alone! Stop calling me son! I can't even call you my father, so what's the point!? We're not related, there's not even a reason why I'm here! I don't belong here, so just shut up and leave me alone!"

For a moment—a long, painful moment—there was only silence. _Maybe they'll leave me alone._ Ace thought. _Maybe they'll never come back, they'll hate me for getting mad at them, and Whitebeard will finally just kill me._

And then his door broke.

Or rather, Whitebeard smashed it down.

Wood flew across the room as he demanded, "Why are you saying those things, Ace? We're family."

"We're not!" Ace yelled, too angry to care about whether he really was going to get killed for acting like this or not. "I've never had a family, and I never can have one! I don't deserve a family, and I don't need one either! I'm just fine on my own, I…" His voice broke, and Ace froze when he realized that he was crying.

"Are you?" Whitebeard asked gently. He crouched down next to Ace and pushed Ace's hair from his eyes with a soft smile as he asked, "Do you really think that we can't be your family? I consider you my family… will you accept me as part of your family?"

Ace stared at him. Whitebeard had been so different from what he had thought he'd be like… kind, generous, with a sense of humor… it was too much. It was like a dream that he was terrified of waking up from. Whitebeard would sometime or another reject him, so Ace knew he shouldn't get attached but…

"I can't call you Oyaji." Ace blurted out impulsively. "We can't be family if I can't call you my dad, right?"

Whitebeard stared at him, dumbfounded, and then burst into laughter. "Can't be family because you won't call me a nickname that some of my other children have given me?" He snickered. "What a silly reason."

Ace turned bright red. "And… and I tried to kill you." He added. "There's no way you can completely forget about that, right? I made such a stupid mistake!"

Whitebeard shrugged. "We all make mistakes." He responded dismissively. "It's what we learn from them that counts."

"I won't be a good son." Ace blustered onwards. "In fact, I'll probably be an awful one. I'm not good at anything, all I'm good at is getting mad, and I can't act like the others do, and…"

"I don't want you to be what the others are, Ace." Whitebeard cut him off with a frown. "I want you to be Ace. You are Ace, so you shouldn't try to act like Jozu or Haruta. You can't change who you are, and I happen to like the current you just fine."

"I…" Ace's protests fell from his lips. "Thanks… Whitebeard."

Whitebeard patted his shoulder. "I'll be waiting for you to call me Oyaji." He winked. "But until then, call me whatever you want."

"Alright, Whatever You Want." Ace joked.

Whitebeard burst into laughter. "That's a fine name." He chuckled. "Do you feel better now?"

"I… yeah." Ace smiled. "Thanks again.

"No problem." Whitebeard ruffled his hair, stood up, and left.

Maybe Ace was being stupid. They probably would never accept him…. But… somewhere, he thought that maybe Whitebeard really wouldn't care who or what he was.

After all, Ace was _Whitebeard's_ son now, not Gol D. Roger's.

0o0o0o0o0

 _ **Case: The Disappearance of Portgas D. Ace**_

 _ **Details**_ _ **:**_ _Portgas D. Ace [from now on referred to as 'Subject A'] went missing in an area where Whitebeard was seen as well after a meeting with Red Haired Shanks. Subject A had previously been offered a chance to become a Shichibukai, and is quite talented for someone his age._

 _ **Abilities:**_ _Fire abilities – ate the Mira Mira no Mi  
Hand to Hand Combat – preferred style, callous and untrained_

 _ **Investigating Officer**_ _ **:**_ _Monkey D. Garp [under special circumstances]_

Tossing down the file in disgust, Sengoku scowled at his old friend. "What are you planning, Garp?" He demanded. "There's no real reason to be searching for this pirate… the most likely conclusion to this case is that he's dead! And this file is the smallest one I've ever seen since that missing devil fruit user's case, too! We know nothing about this pirate—why are you trying to find him?"

Garp smiled mysteriously. "You don't need to know." He answered with a chuckle. "It's just for some fun, Sengoku. Don't take it too seriously, I've just been a little bored lately, and Newgate always has some good sake."

Sengoku scowled and clicked his tongue against his teeth sharply. "Is this just a game to you?" He demanded. "The marines stand for justice! What would the citizens say if they found out that you were just bouncing around, searching for MIA pirates for _fun_!?"

Garp beamed proudly. "They would congratulate us for being so dedicated to our work that we even pursued Justice in our spare time!" He replied cheerily.

Sengoku groaned. "He's not worth it."

Garp frowned, and held up his beer bottle. "Want some?" He offered.

His superior rolled his eyes. "You're not honestly offering me sake to try diverting my attention and getting me to loosen up, are you?"

Garp shrugged. "If that's your way of saying you don't want it…"

"Give me that." Sengoku quickly hissed.

The Vice Admiral laughed and poured him a cup. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Sengoku. It's all fine and dandy, this isn't going to be anything big, after all."

"Portgas D. Ace is strong." Sengoku warned Garp. "He could pose a threat. The pirates that he defeated called him a _demon_ … if you really must search for him, make sure he doesn't join Whitebeard. If he does, he'll be untouchable."

"Untouchable, eh?" Garp mused, his fingers tightening around his cup at the word 'demon'. _That would be nice. But it seems that boy will always be in danger… That little fool. If he's alive, I'll give him the Fist of Love. If he's dead, I'll revive him and_ then _give him the Fist of Love._

He just hoped that Luffy was doing better than that stupid older brother of his.

 **A/N:** The prompt came from Mysteryreader(there are supposed to be some random numbers here). The chapter sucked, it updated slow… sorry.


	12. Interlude: Thatch's Backstory

**A/N:** I know that this isn't really following what the fic's about (and honestly, I'm straying like _crazy_ ) but I felt like doing this and this fic really is mainly just a collection of oneshots… I know that isn't an excuse, but… please bear with me?

Ace had just gotten used to being a Whitebeard when a question seemed to randomly pop up in his mind and made him run around asking the crew how they had become part of the family.

"Um, you're asking me how I joined Pops' crew?" Mouth agape, Thatch blinked and pointed at himself, gawking as Ace nodded and grinned brightly. "Well, um, I'm flattered, but…" Thatch rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"You bet it is." Jozu, who had been not-so-stealthily stealing Thatch's bacon, agreed. "In fact, it's in the Top 10 Strangest Whitebeard Recruit Stories list."

"You have a Top 10 Strangest Whitebeard Recruit Stories list?" Ace echoed in disbelief. "That can _not_ possibly be real."

"It wasn't." Thatch shrugged. "But then there was this one storm, and all the division commanders were in Oyaji's room and talking about stuff, and then we decided to start making lists, and then it just… yeah." He grinned. "I'm Number 8. Haruta's Number 5, though. If you go to her, you can get a pretty cool story."

"What's yours?" Ace asked eagerly as he took some of Jozu's bacon. "Tell me!"

"It's not that interesting…" Thatch mumbled evasively as he started whistling suspiciously. "You really don't want to hear it… it's just strange because the decision to join was kind of sudden."

"Just sudden?" Jozu snorted. "It was incredible! Like a total 180!" He turned to Ace. "Haruta's got it all written down somewhere from when she got the crazy notion she wanted to be an author—mind you, she dropped _that_ idea after only a week—but she's got the whole story down. I think that Marco helped her out quite a bit too, to get the information straight, and she's not very good at writing… don't tell her I said this, but we were all quite relieved when she decided to stop writing… but it should still show you how surprising Thatch's joining was."

"Alright." Ace agreed, nodding. "So, where's Haruta?"

A few minutes later, when they reached Haruta and told her their request, she instantly brightened and practically teleported to her room and back. "Thatch joining us wasn't as cool as everyone makes it seem." She warned Ace. "And though it's quite interesting, it's not all that. We just exaggerated it because it seemed very sudden at the time… looking back on it now, though, it was obvious that he would end up with us. It's not too different from the rest of our stories either, so it won't be too shocking. All the same, writing it down was funfunfun… and I got a super awesome cool bro in the process!"

Thatch grinned and high fived Haruta as Ace opened the small black notebook.

 _We hadn't really meant to end up there._ Haruta's scrawled handwriting was thin and spidery, with the letters spaced apart a little further than necessary, as though she had written in a great rush. Ace grimaced, but he wasn't too picky about penmanship. _But we had. And we hadn't meant to get a brother. But we had. And it was one of the greatest feelings ever…_

0o0o0o0o0

The storm had come out of nowhere, a terrifying monster that seemed intent on devouring the small ship that contained but a few members of our crew oops I mean the Whitebeard Pirates. Waves that seemed to never stop going up smashed into the ship over and over and over again as Pops Whitebeard, Marco, Jozu, Izou, Curiel, and me Haruta huddled under the deck.

"It doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon." Izou remarked with a grimace as he ran a comb through his hair and carefully inspected himself in the mirror. "I look awful with this lighting. The lightening makes me look like a ghost…" He put his mirror down, disgusted, and turned to Marco. "When will we reach the next island?"

Marco peered at the log pose tied on his wrist, and then lifted a shoulder into a shrug. "With this storm around?" He sighed. "It could take anywhere from two seconds to two weeks."

Jozu groaned. "I hope there's not too much damage to the ship." He sighed. "I can fix most of it, but we've been running out of supplies lately, and after the Skypeia trip I've been feeling like the _Fraunhofer_ has been going on her last limbs."

Whitebeard frowned. "That would be bad." He agreed, rubbing his hands together in worry. "How about I tell you children a story to pass to time?"

Marco looked at his log pose, and looked outside, before a goofy, but fond smile found it's way onto his features. "Alright." He agreed with quiet excitement as he sat onto Pops' Whitebeard's (you know what, I'm going with Oyaji, and you can't stop me, Marco! Nya nya!) Oyaji's lap. "Can you tell us the one about the island with walking birds and flying pigs again?"

"Oh, yeah!" Curiel agreed with a grin. "That one was totally rad!"

I snickered at this, because _come on_! Who says rad anymore? Only old geezers use language like _that_. But I also wanted to hear the story as well, so when Izou shot me a warning look I shut up and acted very polite. (Alright, fine, I may have stuck out my tongue at him—but sometimes he is _such_ a stick in the mud! Like Marco is now! Although he actually used to be very cute. Marco, not Izou. Anyways…)

For a while Oyaji told us tales of grandeur and suspense, and although sometimes his voice would break at the thought of his old crew, he seemed to be honestly happy to be able to share his stories with us.

Listening to all the super cool stories made time fly by, and before we knew it we had reached the island.

It was a bright place, full to bursting with people cheer, and overall normality, but something in the air felt tense, like everyone was walking on thin ice and terrified of falling.

Marco seemed to notice, so his hands seemed to instantly find Oyaji's as he squeezed Oyaji's hand and pressed his forehead into Oyaji's arm. "This place feels wrong." He swallowed.

"It feels fake." Izou agreed with a frown. "That is _so_ not beautiful."

Curiel nodded. "Not epic at all." He agreed as we surveyed the island. "But we're stuck until I can fix the ship up. The _Fraunhofer_ is in pretty had shape… she's been alright so far, but I don't think she can go back to the water in her current condition. I'm going to need to get more wood, too."

"I'll help you." Jozu offered. "Would gopher wood be better, or should I try looking for some pine?"

Curiel looked thoughtful. "I'd like to try matching the same quality as the ship had before, but at the same time stronger wood would definitely help to prevent something like this from happening again. Why don't we try getting some gopher wood first, and if our budget's too small we'll get pine?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Jozu grinned and after talking their plans over with Oyaji, they hopped off, talking in Shipbuilding jargon the whole way.

For a while we stared after them and wondered what to do next, when a loud rumbling sound filled the air.

Izou turned bright red as we all turned to stare at him. "I'm not _that_ hungry…" He said hastily.

Marco shook his head. "Eat." He commanded Izou, a little bit of the nowadays Marco showing up in his voice. "It's no good to refuse food when you have an opportunity to eat it."

I nodded. "I want something expensive!" I cheered.

"We don't have that much money, though!" Marco protested, ever practically.

I stuck out my tongue. "We're _pirates_." I rolled my eyes. "You can't be honest when you're a pirate!"

Marco turned beet red, and then exclaimed, "But we're not bad pirates!" His voice was so firm that it was almost cute. "So we shouldn't steal!"

Honestly, Marco was so adorable back that. Why on earth did he have to grow up?

"Of course we won't steal." Oyaji cut in smoothly as he ruffled Marco's hair. "Haruta, just because we're outside of the law doesn't mean that we should do what's morally wrong. The reason that we're pirates isn't to do wrong, but so that we have freedom."

I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah, yeah." I mumbled, not really understanding what he meant at the time. But I understand it now… and man, was I embarrassing as a kid or _what_? "Whatever."

We ended up in a nice, clean and fancy restaurant. I liked it plenty—but it wasn't Thatch's. We're not at that part yet.

Nah, we started hearing about Thatch when an obviously drunk man staggered into the restaurant. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were only half open, but he was wearing a clean suit—or at least, it would have been clean if it weren't for the footprint clearly planted on his chest—and an exhausted looking man in a pale blue suit was supporting him.

The restaurant patrons tossed him sympathetic looks, and a woman called out, "Any luck this time, Charles?"

"Bah, I wish." The drunk spat as he took a wobbly seat on one of the less fancy seats. "That stupid old man refuses to let that child grow acquainted with the rest of the world—and it seems he's brainwashed that stupid, violent teenager to become just like him! They're both complete mysteries… Honestly, we may as well give up on him…" He shook his head. "But I believe in Justice! So I won't give up!"

I made a gagging notion and the rest of the crew laughed, but Marco, ever curiously, had already walked over to the man. "…Excuse me, sir." Marco tapped the man—Charles—on the shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

Charles peered at him , looking almost confused, before replying dazedly, "Are you from out of town, young'un? Everyone knows… The old man Scheizer, and the mystery boy who he forces to work at his sleazy bar!"

Pops and Izou exchanged glances, and my eyes narrowed. Pops always had a soft spot for the ones who others spread bad rumors about… in fact, that was the way that he found out about me.

"Oh?" Marco's blue eyes widened, and seemed to sparkle even brighter with curiosity as he asked almost childishly, "What bar? Where is it?"

Charles pointed the way and managed to give us our instructions before passing out.

That was fine, though. We didn't need Charles anymore to know where our next destination was.

0o0o0o0o0

Charles was right.

The bar _did_ seem quite sleazy… a dirty, old place where only the mentally ill seemed to frequent (and I don't mean sweet autistic people… I mean psychotic types).

The man running the bar was a wizened old man with a wrinkled face and a foul mouth. He wiped the place when it got too dirty (although with the amount of dust in there no amount of cleaning could ever have really cleaned it up) and had small talk with his customers, but never served food.

Thatch was the one who served food. Tall and lanky, his orange hair was shorter and hung to his shoulders like a delinquent's. Although he smoked, nobody seemed to notice, and as he served our drinks, Pop's asked, "Hullo, boy. What's your name?"

Thatch glowered at him and demanded, "Why do you want to know?"

I scowled, disliking him instantly (although I love you now, Thatchy!), as I muttered to Izou, "He's too rude. Pops can't seriously want him, right?"

I think that I expected Izou to agree with me, but he merely smiled and replied easily, "Child, there are sometimes things under the surface at work. You can't judge people based on how they look on the outside, but what their heart's like on the inside."

I frowned at this, still not understanding but not wanting to admit it, as Pops replied amicably, "Is it so wrong to want to know someone's name or talk to them?"

Thatch looked a little startled, and replied, "Thatch. What's your name, old man?"

"Edward." Pops replied with a slight smile. "Why aren't you at school, Thatch?"

Instantly, he clammed up, and his eyes darkened. " _They_ sent you, didn't they?" He demanded angrily. "Well, forget it! I'm not going to help you arrest the old man—he's done _nothing_ wrong! You can go and tell those #$%^ing cops that they can go and just…" He let off a few cuss words and stormed off.

Marco stared openmouthed after him, and finally he turned to us. "Looks like we've got a challenge on our hands." He grinned. "I'll bet ten beris that he's going to be our new brother by the end of the week."


	13. Thatch Gets Inturrupted

**A/N:** Worst. Chapter. _Ever._ I wrote this right after watching Age of Ultron and... _never_ try to write a story when you're not into the fandom. It just doesn't work. Sorry, guys… (facewalls)

Thatch's train of thought was racing a mile a minute as he stormed into the kitchen.

Those stupid villagers, couldn't they just leave the old man alone? Especially after what happened last year… Thatch shook his head and started to chop a carrot, hoping that the mindless activity would save him from needing to think about such conflicting thoughts.

"Kid?" The old man stepped in, concern creasing his brow as he asked, "Were they bugging you for information again?"

Thatch's eyes flickered over to the old man and he dipped his head into a slow nod. "It's so annoying." He muttered. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

The old man gave a chuckle of amusement. "They were just trying to be friendly, you know." He pointed out. "You don't need to get so mad."

Thatch scowled. "You don't need to take their side, Aram. Besides, why are you taking their sides? They're still trying to arrest you even after you saved all of them last year! And you still…"

"It doesn't matter, Thatch." Aram cut in, mirroring Thatch's frown. "Besides, it may not have saved them. Perhaps me fighting those dangerous people only cursed us. Perhaps we would have been better off if I had just let what would have happened happen."

"There's _nothing worse_ than what could have happened." Thatch hissed angrily as he smashed his knife into the last bits of the carrot. "You should be treated like a hero! If it weren't for you, those stupid villagers would all be slaves of the Tenryuubito. And you know what? They would have deserved it. But you're still so nice! What the #$% is making you act like that towards them!?"

Aram smiled as he picked up the chopped carrot bits and dumped them into a pot of soup. "We're all human, Thatch." He replied. "We all have flaws. You, me, and the villagers too. Yours is anger. Theirs is naïveté. I have flaws too… many, many flaws that I could live forever and still not have enough time to list all of. You simply have to accept them, flaws and all."

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Why bother being nice to people who won't be nice to me?" He retorted. "It's useless."

"But so is anger." Aram replied. "Do you mind washing that knife? I'll scoop up the soup."

Thatch sighed, not bothering to protest. When Aram started talking about the restaurant, he would refuse to continue the previous line of conversation. "I'll go out and be the waiter again." He offered with a sigh. "You can get back to the kitchen or the bar."

Aram beamed. "That's wonderful!" He cheered as he picked up the bowls and plunked them onto a tray. He handed the tray to Thatch and winked. "Take some soup out to the newcomers, will ya?"

Thatch opened his mouth to protest, but when he caught the gleam in the old man's eyes he accepted them wordlessly and left the kitchen with a call of, "Fine, old man. But I won't do whatever you want me to do!"

"You don't know that!" Aram called after him as the door clicked shut behind Thatch.

0o0o0o0o0

As soon as Thatch appeared, Marco visibly brightened. "Oi! You!" He called out, grinning like a maniac as he waved his arms wildly over his head. "Come over here!"

Thatch looked torn between reluctance and disgust, but slowly inched towards our table and set down four bowls of soup with a sigh. "You're really not going to leave me alone, are you?" He asked rhetorically. Thatch sighed, and made a little noise in the back of his throat, before choking out, "I'm… I'm _sooorry_ …"

(I'm not exaggerating in how I write that, he sounded like he was _dying!_ )

"…for acting so rudely to you." As soon as he choked out the words he made the same noise at the back of his throat and I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Ah, no worries!" I replied cheerfully. "I mean, you're going to be our brother by the end of the week, so it's all okay! Just get out all the annoyance right now so that later you can get along well with us!"

Thatch's eye twitched. "What makes you think that I'll want to join you—whatever you are—and why would I be you _brother_? Are you stupid?"

Izo shrugged. "You know, it's almost cute how you're struggling." He noted. "But seriously, just shut up and join already. This pack of idiots is like a force of nature—you can't resist it, no matter how hard you try."

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Well, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black." He sneered. "Besides, why would I join a bunch of freaks like you? Look at yourself! You're a man—act like one! You—the girl—do you even have a brain? And you, the blond…" He turned to Marco and wrinkled his nose. "I wouldn't even know where to start, you're such a freak. Then you, the giant…" He glared at Oyaji. "Look at yourself. You're a walking, talking freakshow."

I, personally, was all for strangling him (though I'm glad I didn't—most of the time, at least), but Oyaji merely smiled gently at Thatch. "Yes, I suppose that I do seem quite freakish." He agreed amicably. "But you're one too, aren't you?"

Thatch bristled, his eyes darkening. "I may be a freak." He answered with surprising honesty. "But at least I'm not as freakish as you are."

I smiled cheerfully. "You know, it's not so bad to be a freak." I offered. "In fact, I like it quite a bit."

Thatch glared at me. "Obviously your head isn't working quite right." He snorted. "Why would you like being a freak?"

"Why not?" Izou challenged him as he took a sip of the soup. "Being a freak just means that you're special and unique. Those sound like wonderful traits to me."

Thatch gave Izou a look of disgust and answered, "Do you seriously think that I'm going to take the opinion of a cross dresser? And one as ugly as you, too."

Pops tensed. "My son is one of the handsomest men in the land." He replied firmly. "It would do you good not to belittle him."

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Why?" He asked. "Is he going to shoot me with that gun that he has hidden in his kimono if I insult him?"

Marco blinked, astonished as he wondered out loud, "You saw it?"

Thatch shrugged. "It's quite obvious." He grunted. "The folds are done all wrong—obviously there to conceal something. And you can make out the shape so easily when he shifts a certain way—although I'll wager that nobody else has noticed."

Izou's mouth remained shut, although his eyes had darkened in a mixture of curiosity, admiration, and irritation and being found out.

"Is there a reason that you need to be able to detect hidden weapons?" Pops asked cautiously as he leaned forwards, tucking his chin into his hands.

Thatch frowned at Pops. "I work at a bar." He scoffed. "It's crucial to make sure nobody gets killed."

Pops' eyes glittered in amusement. "So as long as nobody gets killed, everything's fine?" He asked.

Thatch's eyes narrowed. "Basically, yes." He answered. "Although if there's going to be a fight, we usually want the customers to take it outside."

Pops leaned back, eyes still sparkling. "I see." He nodded thoughtfully. "Do you ever get into fights?"

Thatch blinked, then a scowl crossed his features. "What's with all these questions?" He demanded suspiciously. "Is there a reason that you want to know?"

"No." Pops answered. "Just the curiosity of an old man."

"Well then, stop asking." Thatch ordered him. "It's annoying, and besides you guys are all so spoiled and stupid freaks that even if I answered your questions you'd just judge me like idiots. You've probably never worked a day in your life, let alone fight!"

"So you have fought." Pops observed.

"So what if I had?" Thatch challenged. "Why are you so curious anyways? Have you gone senile or stupid?"

 _Crash!_

Marco slammed into Thatch like a bullet train, and his fist had smashed into Thatch's face before they even landed. "Call me whatever you like." He snarled, features twisted in fury. "I'll even let it slide about what you called my brothers and sisters. But don't you _dare_ insult Pops—I'm sick of listening to you act like you're some pitiful creature!" His fist met Thatch's face again. "Try calling him senile again, and I'll cut off your limbs and shove them down your throat!"

Thatch's eyes widened, stunned, before they narrowed and he pulled out a knife. The customers had already noticed the brawl by then and were chanting for a fight as Thatch swiped the blade across Marco's cheek.

Marco didn't even flinch as blue flames licked his features, casting an eerie light in his eyes as he slammed his forehead against Thatch's. "Won't work on me." He snarled. "You can try fighting me, but you'll just get beat up."

Thatch's eyes widened. "You're a devil fruit user?" He gasped.

Marco didn't respond as Thatch gawked at him.

Thatch's eyes narrowed, and he slammed his knife into Marco's shoulder. Marco's hand flew towards it and pulled it out, but Thatch had already dashed towards the kitchen, where the old man by the bar was standing and frowning thoughtfully at Marco.

"Blue flames…" I heard him mutter under his breath, before Thatch disappeared into the kitchen and the old man turned to follow.

Marco dropped the knife on the ground as the drinkers stepped away from him. "He's one of them…" They muttered, seeming awed as they smiled at Marco. "He's one of theirs!"

Marco eyed them suspiciously. "One of who's?" He demanded. "I don't belong to anyone but Pops!"

One of the men, seeming to have gathered up enough courage to approach Marco, leaped forwards and unbuttoned Marco's shirt. "There!" He crowed triumphantly as he pointed at the Tenryuubito's mark on Marco's chest. Marco froze, eyes wide, as the man cheered happily, "Finally, the Tenryuubito have come!"

0o0o0o0o0

 **In Real Time…**

Ace gaped. The Tenryuubito? What did they have to do with the story? What did they have to do with Thatch? He turned to flip the page when the sound of an explosion reached his ears. Seconds later a cannonball flew through his stomach.

Ace burst into flames as the weapon harmlessly flew through him, and frowned as the sounds of shouts and battle reached his ears.

Edward, the ship's cook, raced down, dueling with a man in a blue and white suit—Ace's eyes widened when he realized the Navy had come. "Ace, the battle's on the deck!" Edward called out as he swung his spear at the Navy officer. "They're fighting with one of the strongest Vice Admirals! Try to avoid him as much as possible! It's our job to take out the small fry!"

The Navy officer swung his sword at Edward, before asking breathlessly, "You're Fire Fist? Portgas D. Ace?"

Ace frowned. "What about it?" He demanded. "First you interrupt my reading, and then you don't even recognize me? Wow, I'm really feeling the urge to kill you right now."

"We've come to investigate you." The Navy officer answered. "Come quietly, and we'll stop the battle."

Ace narrowed his eyes as he snapped his fingers. "No way." He scoffed as the Navy officer burst into flames. "You seriously think I'm going to willingly get captured?"

The officer cried out in shock and quickly slapped away the flames.

Ace crouched down to the officer and asked quietly, "Who sent you? Tell me and maybe I won't fry you."

"It's—It's Vice Admiral Garp!" The officer quickly shouted. "He's right upstairs! Please don't burn me!"

Ace rolled his eyes at the officer (seriously, only amateurs would get so scared—it was only a death threat, after all), before freezing. He paled. "G-Garp?" He choked out. "Garp is here? Garp the Fist? 'Hero' Garp?"

"Yes!" The officer panicked. "Please don't kill me!"

Ace paled, killing the officer a duty long forgotten. "So he's finally come…" He whispered. "I'm dead."


	14. When Garp Comes Along

He had climbed the coldest mountains, chased all rumors about a pirate wearing an orange hat, and had even bumped into Shanks (that snot nosed brat just offered him a drink—not that Garp hadn't accepted, if there was one thing Shanks had, it was good drinks).

But Ace's trail always ended up with Whitebeard.

He had tried _every_ possibility, chased all the rumors… but everything pointed out that Ace was either one of Newgate's boys now, or that he was dead.

Because Garp knew that Newgate didn't take prisoners, and while he trusted that the old man would spare a teenager, Garp knew that if Ace had posed a threat to the pirate's family…

He tried not to think about it. Garp stormed around, pretending to get angry, and exclaiming that his stupid grandson must have joined the Whitebeards, that idiot, but somewhere inside…

He tried to avoid the thought.

One of his crew had brought it up, and it was all Garp could do not to _completely annihilate_ him. He knew that it was stupid, that it didn't make sense, and that he should have more faith, but still… his mind trailed back to Luffy. What would Luffy say if his older brother—the only one left, after what happened with Sabo—had died as well? Would he blame Garp?

No, of course he wouldn't.

But Garp would blame himself.

He tried to be patient. He really did… but then he saw Newgate, and all when he asked Newgate about whether or not he had seen Fire Fist Ace, the man snorted and informed him that Ace had become his son.

For a moment, Garp's mind leaped to the thought, _He's safe. Sengoku wouldn't dare attack him while he's one of Whitebeard's boys. He won't be hunted down. No one will ever need to know who he is…_ and then, unbidden, he said shortly, "Let me see him."

Newgate looked surprised for a moment, but then his eyes narrowed, and he demanded, "Why?"

Garp yearned to yell, _Because he's my cute little grandson, you bumbling dope! Now hurry up and let me see him!_ But instead, he answered swiftly, "Navy protocols."

Haruta, one of the Commanders of Newgate's crew, yawned. "Should we let the boring old man see our cute little Ace?" She asked the other members of the crew. "And do whatever the _Navy_ requires him to do?"

The orange haired chef—Thatch, Garp recalled, the newest Commander—smirked. "That would be awfully dull, wouldn't it?" He answered good naturedly. "Suppose they want to arrest him. What, then? Or worse—give him that dull offer to become a Shichibukai again. Or—I know!—they'll want him to pose for a picture they'll put on his bounty poster."

Haruta giggled, and then offered Garp a sweet smile. "How about you turn tail and run along?" She asked. "Then we'll show you some mercy."

Garp narrowed his eyes. "You think that I'll be intimidated by you lowly pirate scum?" He snorted.

Haruta shrugged. "It was worth a shot." She replied as she stood up and twirled her sword carelessly around. "So, are you ready to fight, then?"

He really shouldn't have, he should have just been honest, and informed them that he wouldn't hurt Ace, but… Garp grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "Sounds fun." He replied cheerfully as he swung his fist towards Whitebeard.

0o0o0o0

He didn't want to face Garp.

He wasn't scared, per say—just worried—no, he was scared.

Ace knew that Garp loved him—he really did, and as annoying as it was, Ace understood that he owed a debt to Garp, and was grateful for all that the old man had done for him.

But, there were many things he wasn't really looking forwards to.

Actually, Ace could really think of any reason for him _to_ look forward to this meeting… well, he supposed that he was happy that the old man was alive and all… but honestly, he'd rather be happy that Garp was alive and a nice, safe distance from the crazy old man.

When he stepped onto the deck, the battle was raging full scale. Marines and pirates fighting, fallen men bleeding, the nurses rushing to and fro and in the middle of that, the only two father figures that Ace had ever had.

"STOP!" He yelled, weaving his way through the crowd as he raced over towards them. "DON'T DO THIS!"

Jozu must have seen him running towards the two men, because he quickly intercepted Ace and ordered him, "Don't do that. Those two are on a whole other league than the rest of us—you can't even _dream_ of stopping this battle."

"I can, and I will." Ace replied determinedly as he stepped forwards. "Don't try to stop me, I will do it."

"How?" Jozu demanded. "They're way stronger than you! There's nothing that you can do to stop it!"

Ace shook his head. "There's one thing." He replied, before paling. "And—it'll be fine—probably."

"It'll be fine?" Jozu repeated, incredulous. "You'll be dead! How do you define that as 'fine'!?"

"No, I'm not going to die." Ace replied sharply, irritation leaking into his voice. "So stop saying that. I'm going to stop them, and you can't stop me from stopping them."

Jozu frowned as his fist turned into a diamond. "I could." He replied with a scowl as he held up his fist. Ace blinked in surprise as Jozu prepared for battle. "I could, and I would. Injuring you is far better than you dying."

"You don't _get it!_ " Something rippled through the air and gasps of shock were heard as many men suddenly collapsed without warning. Surprise flickered at the edge of Ace's consciousness, but he couldn't find himself properly caring. If those two fought—then what if one of them died? That could _not_ happen. Absolutely, positively, _no way_ would he ever let that happen.

Then Whitebeard's bisento dropped.

Garp's fist fell as well.

They both turned to Ace, open mouthed, jaws practically on the floor.

If it weren't so serious a moment, Ace would have burst into laughter. Unfortunately, it was a serious moment, and Ace felt more like wetting himself than laughing. "Hi, Gramps." He greeted the man with a weak wave as he shuffled awkwardly. "How's life been treating you?"

Garp gawked at him for a moment, before racing over and punching Ace. " _That's_ what it felt like, you stupid, sorry excuse for a grandson!" He snapped peevishly in response, before he punched Ace again. "How _dare_ you go and become a—a _pirate_!? Do you know how worried I was? And besides…" Ace flinched, but allowed Garp to punch him a third time. "You were supposed to be a marine, you knucklehead! Now Luffy's going to become a pirate because he thinks that you're so amazing that he just does whatever you do…"

Garp stared at Ace again, as though contemplating whether or not he should punch the boy again, but Ace had already taken refuge behind Whitebeard. "I was never going to be a marine anyways, you stupid old man." Ace muttered, before sticking his tongue out. He flinched when Garp took a menacing step forwards, but stood firm—cowering behind a giant of a man.

Jozu gaped. "Ace, you know The Fist?" He asked.

Ace turned to the diamond man and tilted his head to the side. "Why wouldn't I know my own grandpa?" He asked blankly, the words slipping out before he remembered, _Oops, Gramps is Oyaji's enemy—_ His brain barely filtered that before the heart dropping thought of, _he'll probably hate me now that he knows my gramps is a Marine…_

Everyone gawked at him, and Ace just had enough time to wonder whether or not they were thinking up ways to kick him off the ship,before Whitebeard finally burst into loud, booming laughter. "So, The Fist's your grandfather?" He smiled widely. "That explains quite a bit."

"Like what?" Garp demanded as he stomped over to Ace and slammed his fist into the top of the teenager's head. "This idiotic grandson of mines doesn't take after me at all!"

Ace rubbed the top of his head with a scowl. "Yeah, I'm totally different from this stupid old geezer!" He agreed, but he couldn't hold back the bright smile of relief that they didn't care— _of course they wouldn't, you stupid idiot—_ as a half nervous, half giddy laugh bubbled out of his lips. "How on earth are we alike?"

"Well, you're crazy strong considering your age." Haruta replied as she poked her tongue between her teeth as she tended to when she was thoughtful. "But your genes from this nut could totally explain that…"

Ace could feel his stomach drop as he remembered that while they accepted him for Garp, they didn't know that Gol D. Roger was his father, and that even if they accepted Garp them accepting Whitebeard's enemy was a completely different story. "Right." He agreed weakly.

Ace could feel Garp's stare at him, and as he glanced at the old man he could just barely spot a sad look on Garp's features before his signature smile lit his face. "This little weakling?" Garp snorted. "Please, he's practically a disappointment compared to me!" He paused. "Actually, he _is_ a disappointment—don't you dare think we're done with this conversation! How _dare_ you become a pirate, Ace?"

Ace groaned outwardly, but the smile was still stuck to his face. "You stupid gramps…"

0o0o0o0o0

"I can't believe you kept the fact that _the_ Fist was your grandpa from us!" Thatch groused for what felt like the millionth time.

"He's got the Fist for a grandpa, we've got the strongest man in the world for our father, get over it." Jozu grumbled, but he also seemed sour that he hadn't been informed about this before.

"Sorry, guys." Ace flushed bright red. "I didn't know it would have been this big of a deal."

"I didn't know it would have been this big of a deal." Thatch mimicked, before rolling his eyes. "Oh, please. How could you not know what a big deal this is? He's a vice admiral! He was one of Gol D. Roger's main adversaries!"

Ace lifted a shoulder, before shrinking in on himself. "Sorry." He muttered.

Jozu glared at Thatch. "Look what you did now!" He accused. "You've made the kid apologize!" He turned to Ace. "Just ignore the idiot, Ace. It's not that big of a deal. Right, Thatch?" When silence was his only answer he elbowed his brother and hissed, " _Right, Thatch_?"

"Not that big of a deal." Thatch agreed sulkily.

Ace fiddled nervously with the brim of his hat. "Are you sure that it's not that big of a deal?" He asked hesitantly.

Thatch peered at him, his expression still sulky, and then sighed. "I'm sure." He replied, patting Ace's back. "Who cares about blood? Our ship here—we're family, and it's not about who's related by blood, but by who's tied by something stronger."

Ace nodded, and then peered curiously at Thatch. "…What's stronger than blood?" He asked hesitantly.

"What's stronger than blood?" Thatch repeated. "Bonds are stronger."

"But… blood can be a bond too, right?" Ace tilted his head to the side. "What's the difference?"

Jozu grinned. "Bonds are things that you can't see. They're time spent together. They're smiles. They're hugs. They're being told you belong. They're a morning watching the sea together. They're an afternoon fishing in a calm belt. They're a night drinking hot cocoa and trying to catch Santa Clause red handed. Bonds aren't just something that connect you—they're everything that connects you."

"That… doesn't make sense." Ace snorted.

Thatch laughed. "I don't think it's supposed to. Jozu-chan's just silly."

"Am not!" Jozu protested. "Look, Thatch, just because you left your brain behind a long time ago doesn't mean that I did!"

"Nya, nya, whatever you say, old man." Thatch replied teasingly.

Jozu sighed, and turned to Ace. "Anyways, you and us, our bonds are being created right now. We're getting closer together, and getting to know each other. Do you get it a little?"

Ace lifted a shoulder. "Not really." He admitted.

"It's okay. It will, someday." Jozu grinned. "Until then, we're still family, whether you get it or not. Anyways, Garp mentioned a Luffy…?"

Thatch groaned. "No, don't get him started!"

It was too late. Ace smiled brightly, and began, "Well, he's a big of a knucklehead, but…"

 **A/N:** The Avengers have taken over my life. Civil War was just… so… yeah. Sorry this was so late (and bad, too!)… I'll try to get the next one up faster…


	15. Thatch: End

**A/N:** I'm continuing with Thatch's backstory, so whoever didn't really like reading that can probably skip this chapter. It's been a while, though, so you might have forgotten all about it… I dunno… sorry.

 _It was a little after Garp left when Ace seemed to remember how he had never gotten around to finishing up with Thatch's story._

 _So, he went down to the basement, picked up the notebook, and dusted it off before starting to read it again._

Marco quickly pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, panic flooding over his features.

I think that was probably the first time that I'd ever seen his scared… and the only time that I'd ever seen him so terrified.

"I don't belong to anyone!" He snapped, but his voice was cracking really badly, and his shoulders were shaking like a leaf. "And I don't have anything to do with those stupid Tenryuubito!"

"Really?" One of the men called from the crowd with a laugh. "Then why do you have their mark?"

Izou's bullet found it's way into his shoulder, and with a cry of pain he fell to the ground. "My brother just told you that he doesn't belong to anyone." He replied in a voice so cold that it made me shiver. "Call him a liar and you'll be finding the next bullet in a place that's not so convenient for you."

"You're harboring a runaway slave." The man who was shot hissed even as he gave a breathless laugh. "If the Tenryuubito find out about this and find out that we didn't confront you, death would be the better way out. He just might be the key to getting them to finally come and save us from poverty!"

"You don't get it." Marco said in a voice so soft I could barely hear him. "They're not like that… they don't _help_. They're merciless, they'll act like tyrants, they…"

"Shut up, slave!" A man near the back roared. "You don't understand anything!" Shouts of agreement swelled and filled the room as Oyaji took Marco's hand, a sad expression on his face.

They shouted at Marco for a while, and then they started throwing things. Broken bottles, chairs, anything on hand, I guess. Even Izou shooting at them didn't seem to make a difference… it was like they didn't even feel pain, or care about each other. It was really scary.

Thatch seemed to be fed up, and a knife whistled through the air and landed right next to Marco. "He said he wasn't associated with them!" He yelled. "Leave him alone, or take the fight outside!" The crowd seemed deaf, though, even as Thatch pulled out his knife and whispered, "Get out of here, or there's going to be a riot."

"Come on, son." Oyaji said quietly as he gently picked Marco up. "Let's go."

"You can put me down." Marco muttered. "I can walk."

Oyaji put Marco down, but still held his hand. "Alright." Oyaji replied. "Are you alright, son?" Marco nodded, and offered Oyaji a pale smile. Oyaji squeezed Marco's hand before to Thatch. "Would you mind coming with us?"

"For what?" Thatch asked suspiciously.

Oyaji lifted a shoulder. "It would be a shame if you got hurt." He replied mildly.

"Was that a threat?" Thatch demanded suspiciously.

"No." Oyaji replied. "But if you get caught up in that mob, and you're not as single minded as them, I'm a little worried about how safe it might be, especially considering that they all seem to have weapons."

"I'm not weak." Thatch scoffed. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Pops can't help but worry about anyone without a family." I snorted. "Don't take it too personally, hotshot."

Thatch flushed. "Who says that I don't have a family?" He demanded. "And besides, why would the old man care? He doesn't even know me that well! I may as well be a stranger to him."

Oyaji smiled that knowing smile that he got whenever he had plans for someone to become part of his family. "It doesn't matter." He replied. "We're all children of the sea."

Thatch stared at Oyaji, and opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to think the better of it and just nodded, seeming to have somehow come to the conclusion that he couldn't argue with Pops and win. "Wait a moment, though." Thatch ordered us. "Let me get the old man."

I raised an eyebrow and mouthed 'What old man?' but Oyaji looked just as curious as I felt, but when Thatch pulled a white haired old man out of the building Oyaji's face froze and then an expression of pure amazement lit his features.

"…Aram?" Oyaji whispered, his voice hushed as though if he spoke the name the old man would disappear.

"…Edward?" The old man gawked, before racing over to Oyaji and embracing him tightly. "I thought… after the attack, I thought that everyone else was gone, that you were too, but… you're alive? You're still…"

"I'm right here." Oyaji laughed as he hugged the old man back. "To think that I'd meet one of my old crewmates… I thought that I was the last one alive, too. It's good to see a familiar face."

"It is." Aram agreed, before turning to a bewildered Thatch and explaining happily, "He was on that pirate crew I told you about. Ed here was the youngest one of us… a big of an airheaded dreamer. Remember how I said that there was a giant in the crew? Ed here was our giant. To think we'd meet him here!" He laughed again. "I could die happy." He peered up at Oyaji. "Are these kids part of that family you were always rambling on about?"

Oyaji smiled. "Yes." He agreed softly as he looked at us, eyes filled with so much pride that I started to feel a little embarrassed. "These are my precious children."

Aram nodded, but his eyes landed on Marco, and he murmured, "So the rumors were true. About a slave of the Tenryuubito who at a miraculous fruit and escaped… I thought he'd be dead for sure."

"Oyaji rescued me." Marco replied. "And he's kept me safe ever since."

Aram nodded again. "There's Ed for ya, always a soft hearted fool."

"I'm alright with being a fool if it means I can stay this happy." Oyaji replied in the sappiest voice I'd ever heard (not that it was a bad thing, I mean, it was kind of sweet, just… weird).

Aram seemed to think that sappy was a bad thing, though, because he rolled his eyes, and heaved out a great sigh as he asked, "Have you got any others?"

"Two more." Oyaji confirmed, his wide grin growing even wider. "Their names are Jozu and Curiel. Strong boys, just like the rest of them." He rubbed the top of my head. "And strong like my little girl here, too."

With anybody else I would have been irritated with both having my head rubbed and being called little, but with Oyaji all I could feel was a swell of pride that I was considered 'his child'.

Aram snorted, but he continued talking with Oyaji.

As they continued to talk and we headed back towards the ship, Marco approached Thatch and smiled brightly as he held out a hand and asked, "Are you going to join our family?"

Thatch slapped his hand away and snarled, "No, why would I want to join your stupid little band of freaks?"

To his credit, Marco's smile barely slipped as he replied coolly, "Because you're a freak, just like the rest of us."

"You're kidding, right?" Thatch's voice sounded just as furious as his voice sounded incredulous. "You're a devil fruit user, and used to belong to the Tenryuubito! And just look at the rest of those freaks you have for family… your 'Pops' is a _giant_. Don't get all mad, I'm just stating the facts. You're all weirdos… I'm nothing like you."

At this, Marco's eyes seemed to dim a little, and Izou cut in. "That may be what you think, but Pops knows someone who's lost when he sees one. You want a family, you're just too scared to admit it."

"Scared?" Thatch snorted. "Of who? You and your pretty girly dresses? Stop joking around."

"What's wrong with pretty girly dresses?" Izou challenged Thatch, who merely snorted and offered him a disgusted glare. "What's wrong with being true to myself, hm?"

"You're not being true to yourself, you're just acting stupid." Thatch replied haughtily. "Nobody could ever love a freak who doesn't act like everyone else."

This struck a cord with me. "Why would we want to act like others?" I challenged him. "Do you think that everyone should be a stupid little cookie cutter?"

"Well, nobody should act like a monster." Thatch snorted. "I wouldn't want anything to do with you."

Izou and I exchanged glances and decided that this guy would _never_ join the crew. But Marco seemed to be thinking… and if it weren't for what he did later, Thatch might never have joined.

0o0o0o0o0

Aram had struck a deal with Oyaji to stick around on the ship after we had gone back to his bar and found it completely demolished. I didn't really notice at the time, but Thatch's face was scared, like someone who's only home had been completely destroyed. So, that night, he was sleeping in a cabin with Marco (the only one other than Oyaji who would agree to sleep with him, and Oyaji didn't want Aram and Thatch to sleep in a cabin that didn't have any of our crew… something about making them comfortable and making sure they didn't get lost, I think, but I don't quite remember).

Thatch was still up, just staring into space, when Marco spoke up, and said, "You're not a monster, and there's nothing wrong with being a freak."

Thatch started, but by the time he had turned to face Marco a sneer was on his lips. "What are you saying?" He demanded.

Marco lifted a shoulder, a pale smile gracing his lips as he replied, "You think that you're a monster, that you cause bad stuff to happen." As Thatch opened his mouth to protest, he quickly added, "I know how you feel."

For a second, Thatch seemed as though he wanted to argue, but then he seemed to deflate, and simply asked softly, "How could you understand what it feels like to be the harbinger of doom? To have everyone close to you die… and to know that it's _your fault_?"

Marco swallowed, and though he seemed like all he wanted to do was stare at the ground, he made eye contact with Thatch, and simply replied, "I was born and raised like that." He made a fist. "You know my devil fruit power, right?"

Thatch nodded. "Healing." He replied.

"My job as a slave was to amuse the Tenryuubito." Marco explained. He traced an unseen line on his back, shuddering involuntarily. "I got hit a lot. It always healed, just seconds later. Even if you slit my throat…" He ran a finger on top of his collarbones. "…I didn't die. It just healed, nice and pretty. I got sick of it a few times." The blond haired boy leaned back and closed his eyes. "…I tried to run away… and it didn't work out as well as I had planned."

Thatch stared at him in morbid fascination. "What happened?"

Marco hung his head. "I tried to hide in a bigger village. Lots of people, all nice, none knowing who or what I was. I thought that I was safe. I thought that I could be happy there." His voice started to crack. "I was so, so stupid. The Tenryuubito who owned…" His words stumbled, and he quickly corrected himself, "Who _thought_ that he owned me, came to reclaim me. When I tried to struggle, he…" Marco's voice hitched. "He gave the order for all of them to be killed."

"That's not your fault." Thatch whispered. "That's not… it wasn't…"

" _If I hadn't been so selfish_." Marco replied miserably. "If I had just sucked it up… hadn't tried to run away… there would be hundreds of people still alive who are dead because of me."

"It's _not your fault_!" Thatch replied violently, his voice filled with loathing. "You didn't know, you were just scared… you… you didn't do anything wrong!"

"Then neither did you." Marco declared, determined. "If I didn't kill those people, then you didn't put those skeletons in your closet, either."

Thatch shook his head. "I killed all of them." He replied sadly as he stretched out his hands and stared blankly at his fingers. "I killed them with my own hands, I didn't lead anyone to them."

Marco pressed his hands onto Thatch's and instead of hurling accusations at him, simply asked, "Why?"

"It's none of your business." Escaped Thatch's lips before he could help it, and he flushed. "Sorry, you told me so much about yourself, and I…"

"It's okay." Marco shook his head. "Take your time." He cocked his head to the side. "Do you want to tell me now, or would you rather wait until you're comfortable?"

"I- I'm okay with saying it now." Thatch closed his eyes, and admitted in an ashamed voice, "I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of dying." Thatch pulled his hands out from Marco's. "I can't… I can't, you'll, you'll…" He sucked in a deep breath. "I- I didn't want to die, so I hit him, and I kept hitting him, over and over, and then he _stopped breathing_ , but _they_ knew it was me, and they were mad, and then…" He buried his face in his hands. "She asked me to stop it, but I didn't want to, and because I was selfish, she… she took my place, and…"

" _Thatch_." Marco's voice cut in sharply as he pulled Thatch's hands from his face. " _Who_ did you kill, and why was he going to kill you? _What did she take your place for?_ "

Thatch shook his head. "I owed a debt to someone." He replied softly. "He was going to kill me, so I hit him… I was just going to make sure he was unconscious, but then he died, and, I… his gang came after me. My little sister, she got captured by them, and they would have let her go if I had just killed myself, but I wanted to live, so instead of killing myself I tried to infiltrate their base, and… I was _so stupid_ …"

Marco slapped Thatch. "Don't be stupid." He snarled. "You think that by committing suicide you could have done anything? Your little sister would have been killed for seeing their faces. And besides, you tried, didn't you? You didn't kill her."

"I chose my life over hers." Thatch argued angrily.

"And I chose my life over those villager's." Marco replied, equally furious. "Do you really believe it was your fault?"

"But I…"

" _Shut up_." Marco cut in, eyes glowing fiery blue and gold. "You're my brother, and if you _ever_ think about that ever again, I'll make you regret it. If you ever try to kill yourself, I'll kill myself. If you try to say you're okay by yourself, I swear I'll _kidnap_ you and force you to come with us." He stared at Thatch. "Do you understand?"

Thatch nodded, stunned.

Marco smiled softly, all signs of his resolve earlier gone, and he pulled Thatch up into a standing position. "Now, what do you say we go and raid the kitchen?" He asked cheerfully.

Thatch smiled, a hesitant, small smile, but there nonetheless, and nodded. "Can the old man come too?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Marco replied cheerfully as they headed towards the kitchen.

Thatch decided to join, and Aram joined because of Thatch's joining. Aram took over the 2nd division, and Thatch took over the 4th.

We never regretted it.

0o0o0o0

Ace smiled slightly as he closed the journal. _But wait, doesn't that mean…?_ Aram had died, and now there was no second division commander.

He felt a pang of regret that he never met the old man, but reminded himself to be thankful that he had a family now.

 _Strange…_ he mused. _I found out so much…_

He wondered for a split second if they'd accept the skeletons in his closet, but shook his head.

 _Don't be stupid_. He scolded himself. _They'll never accept that._

But for now… he'd savor the idea of a family.

 **A/N:** Phew! It turned out longer than expected, and yet I still feel like it was too smushed and badly done… Sorry, guys. Anywho, I'm planning on ending this soon, so if there's anything that you'd like to see written, you can ask me, since there's not much chance that I'll actually do it…


	16. A Chat With Marco

Ace had always liked night watch.

It was strangely comforting, just sitting beneath a black sky littered with millions of stars, and just watching the sea ripple by.

It was a cold night, but Ace didn't mind. He would have lit his flames, but the world seemed so much prettier in the dim glow of the moonlight. Like the world was pulling away bright masks, and melting together in an everlasting pattern of dark blues and blacks.

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

Ace yelped as Marco offered him an amused smile. "W-what, is my turn for night watch already over?" Ace flushed when he realized that he'd been stuttering, and quickly pressed a hand against his mouth.

"Nah." Marco shook his head. "I just like to watch the sea and stars. Had a bit of a… rough night, I guess you might say."

"Oh." Ace nodded. "I know what that feels like."

Marco responded with a bleak smile. "I guess we all do." He sighed in a resigned manner. "When that happens, though, I like to come and see the stars. Some nights I remember something good to match with every star… some nights I think that there are so many good things that I'll run out of stars!"

"That's impossible!" Ace laughed. "The stars are practically infinite!"

"But so are the good things in life." Marco replied with a low chuckle.

Ace's smile drooped. "Well, I don't know so much about that." He replied uncertainly. "I mean, there are so many bad things, I think it's more likely that _they'll_ be the things that outnumber the stars…"

Marco tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "Well, I suppose that there are lots of bad things in life, too, but it all depends on how you look at things. It's like that question where they ask if you see the glass as half empty, or half full. The way I see it, the glass has water, and isn't that by itself good enough for you?"

Ace nodded. "I guess." He sighed.

Marco still looked unsatisfied with Ace's answer, but merely nodded and didn't argue. "So, you read about when Thatch joined our family?"

Ace nodded again. "There was a lot of stuff about you in there, too." He noted.

"Oh?" Though Marco's voice was neutral, he sounded honestly curious.. "What type of stuff?"

Ace lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "It's not very important." He replied. "The past is past, it doesn't matter. But here's the notebook, if you want to see it for yourself and make sure I didn't see anything that you didn't want me to see." He rummaged through the mess on top of the crow's nest before pulling it out and handing it over.

Marco looked like he was about to put down the notebook, but a glimmer of curiosity won through, and he lightly skimmed it. "Hm, I wonder where Haruta got her information." He grunted in surprise. "This conversation is practically word for word… I wonder if she interviewed Thatch or decided to eavesdrop."

Ace laughed. "Knowing her, it could be any of the two." He replied. "Are you sure she didn't ask you when you were drunk, or something?"

"Could be." Marco agreed as he closed the notebook and tossed it back in the pile of… whatever that stuff was… and asked curiously, "Any thoughts on what you found out?"

Ace closed his eyes thoughtfully, before tapping his chest, and wondering out loud, "Is that where your Tenryuubito mark used to be?" He flushed, and quickly added, "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"I don't mind." The first division commander replied mildly, the edges of his lips quirked up in an amused smile as he answered, "Yeah. In fact, the reason that Oyaji decided to _make_ his mark was because I was ashamed of what I used to be, and I wanted to cover it up."

Ace nodded as he pulled off his cowboy hat and stared at it sadly. "That's good." He declared. "It's good that you can put your past behind you like that." He absentmindedly traced the brim of his hat.

"Have you done that yet?" Marco asked. At Ace's look of confusion, he quickly elaborated, "Put your past behind you, I mean. Are you still clinging on to it?"

Ace peered at Marco with an expression so lost that the blond felt unsure what to say next, then Ace finally sighed, "No. I don't think I have. But I probably never will, so it's alright."

Marco nodded, though there was still a slight frown on his features. "Why can't you let go of it?" He asked cautiously. "I mean, if you don't mind my asking. If you don't want to tell me, that's alright, too."

Ace turned back to his hat, and stared blankly at it. "Every time that I look at myself…" He sighed as he pushed his hat back on his head and shoved it down so low that it cast a dark shadow over his eyes. "Every time that I see myself, I can see it right there. And every time that I wear my hat, I remember parts of it. This all…" He ran a finger over the tattoo on his arm, _ASCE_ , "It's there to make sure I don't forget. I can't forget it… it's not right if I forget it. Any of it. It would be… so, so wrong, because it was _my fault_ and..." He let out a long breath and shook his head. "Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Marco asked. "Talking? Because I hate to break it to you, but almost everyone talks, and it's not a bad thing."

Ace nodded. "I know, just… sorry for wasting your time."

"On what?" Marco rolled his eyes. "And what time? You talked for less than 30 seconds, that's not a lot of time." His eyes flickered to Ace's tattoo, and gently prodded. "What do you think was your fault? Because I'll bet a million berries that it wasn't."

"You'd lose that bet." Ace replied as he pulled his legs into his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

Marco frowned. "Are you okay with telling me?" He asked.

Ace pressed his face against his knees, silent as stone.

Marco inched in closer and added, "No matter what you might think, I'm pretty sure it wasn't your fault, and even if it was, you obviously regret it now so I'd forgive you. Ace, you're my brother. Family doesn't judge."

"I had a brother." Ace whispered. "A… a long time ago. Even before I met Luffy, I knew him. His name was Sabo. Sabo was a noble from Goa Kingdom… that was a city nearby… but he hated it there. It was too constricting, and everyone controlled him like a puppet, and so he ran away, because he wanted freedom, and he met me, and…" Ace shook his head. "If he hadn't met me, he might still be alive."

"That's not true." Marco cut in, his voice harsh. "Besides, I'm sure that Sabo was happy to have known you."

"I was an awful brother." Ace argued, face still hidden by his knees and hat. "I was mean, and I didn't realize…" He cut himself off, and the silence returned.

"Realize what?" Marco asked quietly.

"Realize loads of things. His father came for him… and Sabo went back to the city. Not because he wanted to, but because Lu and I were held hostage, and if he didn't go back to that cage, we'd get killed. And Lu wanted to see him, but I said that he'd be better off there, because he'd have food and a good future, and books to read, and… I never thought about how much he wanted freedom more than that, though… a few days later, Sabo went to sea, tried to run away… but the Tenryuubito were visiting at the same time, so because he was in their way, they shot his boat, and…"

Ace's breathing hitched, and he shook his head.

"He didn't make it." Marco realized. "Ace, that _wasn't your fault_. It was the Tenryuubito's fault for shooting at him. You were a kid, you couldn't have thought about those things, you couldn't have known…"

"But what if he had just never met me in the first place?" Ace cut in bitterly. "What if I had never existed? He might still be alive if it weren't for me and me being so pigheaded, and…"

" _Ace_." Marco interrupted angrily. "If it weren't for you, he would never have tasted freedom when he did. I know that one taste of freedom, even if it leads to death, is better than a lifetime in a cage. Do _you_ know that?"

Ace nodded.

"Alright." Marco mimicked Ace's nod. "Now, are you going to tell me the other thing that you can't let go of, or are you going to just stay quiet about that?"

Ace's lips didn't even twitch. He merely offered Marco a look like a kicked puppy, and shook his head sadly.

"I won't judge you." Marco sighed. "No matter what. Even if you massacred a whole country… well, I'd be a _little_ bit worried if you did that, but still… I wouldn't judge you or hate you or reject you."

"How… how could you know that for sure?" Ace asked quietly. "How can you say that when you haven't heard what I am, or what I've done?"

"I know that you're my brother." Marco smiled warmly at Ace. "And that's all that matters."

Ace shook his head, like he was trying to get water out of his ears. "That… that can't be." He replied, his voice sounding like a lost child's as he repeated, "That _can't_ be… you can't accept whatever I am just because I'm part of your crew!"

"Why not?" Marco asked.

"Because… because…" Ace frowned, frustrated. "It's just not possible."

"Not possible?" Marco echoed. "Or is it just hard to believe after you've heard narrow minded people hate you for being yourself? Do you think that they'd accept a slave? Or a cross dresser? Or a giant? Ace, we're all misfits. You fit in _perfectly_ with us, and nothing you say will make us reject you."

"You don't know that." Ace shook his head.

"I do." Marco replied firmly. "You don't have to believe me right away. But someday, you will. And when you're ready to talk about the skeletons in your closet, I'll be right here, ready to listen."

Ace stared at Marco for a long time, before he murmured, "I've had people like that before. People who listened… and didn't care. But there are hundreds of people on the Moby Dick…" He lowered his head and stared at the ground uncertainly. "Can you really guarantee me that they'll _all_ accept me?"

"Everyone who matters will accept you." Marco replied firmly. "Whoever thinks you don't belong doesn't matter right now. I'll accept you. Thatch will. Oyaji will. All the commanders. I know Edward and Al, the chefs, will. And a couple others too. There are some who I don't know as well as them… but I know the most important people will accept you for who you are."

"That's an awful lot of trust that you're putting on them." Ace frowned. "Can you really bet that they'd all accept me, no matter what, no strings attached?"

"I'd stake my life on it." Marco replied solemnly. "Do you trust me?"

"I…" Ace raised his head, his eyes meeting Marco's, and stared at them for a long time, drinking in the pale sea blue, before thinking, _He seems an awful lot like freedom must be._ "I do." He sighed.

Marco nodded, patiently silent as he continued to look at Ace.

Ace hung his head, feeling a little foolish. "I… I trust you, but I don't know if I can tell you yet. Once I'm ready, though… I promise that you'll be one of the first people I'll tell, if not _the_ first."

Marco's serious, patient expression melted away into a warm smile as he took Ace's hand and squeezed it gently. "That's all I can ask." He replied acceptingly, before his eyes latched onto something behind Ace. "Now, it looks like the sun's rising, so watch is over. Why don't you go get some sleep, and I'll kick the next guy awake?"

Ace offered Marco a brilliant smile, before hopping off the crow's nest and whooping loudly as he landed on the ground, effectively terrifying some other members of the family.

"I'll be waiting." Marco decided as he went off to wake up whatever lazy member of the crew was supposed to have already relieved Ace of duty.

He'd be patient for now. Ace just needed a little time, and Marco would give him that.

After all, what was family for?

 **A/N:** I… dunno about how I feel about this chapter, to be honest. I might give you slower updates now, because school has turned intense, and I've got a piano exam, so I'm practicing harder than ever, and… yeah. Sorry, guys. BUT I've got an omake for you, so can you consider forgiveness?

 **Omake: Dadan**

She hadn't been sure about him at first.

A demon child with cold eyes filled with hatred, and not even a glimmer of compassion, if Dadan was honest, Ace had terrified her.

As he grew older and grew apart from her, she grew comfortable yelling at him, but still couldn't shake the cobwebs of fear when he would glare at someone (never at the bandits… sure, he glowered, but not a true _glare_ ) and chills would creep up her spine as she thought, _he'd be willing to kill someone, and wouldn't bat an eye._

When he met Sabo, it didn't really change anything. Sabo was sweet, but also childish and desperate to stay with Ace, and so went along with the boy's childish whims.

When Luffy came along, Dadan thought that it may be the same, that she had another demon child on her hands.

But he wasn't one.

He was sweet (and yes, a little bit stupid—scratch that, a _lot_ stupid, nearly dying so many times just to avoid being alone—but Dadan could understand that, though she would never admit it), and caring, and kind.

Most importantly, he made Ace happy, and Ace no longer seemed so cold… in fact, Ace would sometimes even _smile_ at her! And as time grew, he began saying, "Thank you", and though he blushed (quite adorably), he continued to be polite.

Sabo's death… it changed things. It broke her heart, and she cried many times just thinking about it, and something in Ace seemed to break, too.

If it weren't for Luffy, Dadan thought that Ace might've really killed himself after Sabo's death, but with Luffy's help, he managed to keep being happy, and not breaking.

When Ace died… it hurt.

It really hurt.

Dadan wanted to cry, to curl up into a little ball and just cry… but she didn't.

She tried to force on a mask, a shield of anger. _How could this happen? How could Garp let this happen? How could Ace just leave Luffy? Why's the world government full of # $%? Why is this happening?_

But after she started screaming and yelling, she could feel the hollowness in her voice, and even after she got drunk to numb the pain, it still hurt.

She had loved him, because he was practically her son, because he had been with her so long, and what wouldn't she do to see his scowl just one more time…

Dadan hadn't been sure about how to feel. But she knew that it hurt… and that was okay, because it meant that the scowling demon child had taken root in her heart, and she knew the truth. _He wasn't a demon after all._


	17. A Chat With Whitebeard

**A/N:** Do you ever feel terrified of being alone? Like, you're reading fanfiction and then suddenly, you think, _I wish people like this existed in real life_. And yeah, people say that all the time… but when you really think about it, it feels a bit lonely, to think that there's nobody who you can really trust with your dark, painful secrets, and stupid, silly sounding but still terrifying fears. I dunno, maybe I'm just being weird…

Ace had been eating breakfast when the thought struck him.

He had tried to kill Whitebeard 100 times… and then had just casually joined his crew.

Was that seriously okay?

Sure, Whitebeard had _told_ Ace that he had long since forgiven what happened in the past… but still, Ace had wanted him _dead_. That couldn't have been the easiest thing to just forgive and forget.

Frowning at his oatmeal, Ace swirled his spoon through the mush, and wondered if he ought to apologize to the old man… again. But he had already apologized, hadn't he? And would it just make it more awkward to bring it up now that things were okay between them? But he really regretted it… and even though he knew that he had already apologized, he had the odd urge to apologize again.

A lump grew in his throat as he dropped his spoon back into the bowl, suddenly feeling the urge to throw up.

 _I can't believe that he still saved my life after I tried to kill him so many times._ The thought felt sick and strange in his head, like he was sickened that he would try to kill someone like that, but at the same time curious as to _why_ Whitebeard would accept someone who had tried to kill him. _What if I just pretended to be his son, and killed him while his guard was down around me?_

"Ace?" Thatch's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "Is the food alright?" His voice came out a hesitant stutter as his eyebrows drew together in concern. "Does it taste bad, or are you feeling sick, or…"

"No, no." Ace shook his head. "I just… I'm not very hungry, that's all." He pushed his bowl away and stood up. "I think I'll go rest in my cabin a bit."

He started towards his cabin, but his feet betrayed him and before he knew it Ace was standing in front of Whitebeard's cabin, wondering whether or not he ought to knock.

 _Just do it, you idiot._ An impatient part of him grumbled. _What's the worse he could do? Disown you? Like that's scary._

…It was, though. It was terrifying, if he was completely honest with himself.

 _These were the only people that had ever accepted you. Do you seriously want to throw that away?_

Ace unconsciously began to finger his ASCE tattoo.

 _Like he's going to throw me out. It'll be fine. He'll probably just laugh and send me away…_

Ace closed his eyes, resigned to the fact that he would probably be rejected, when a loud voice called out in warm amusement, "Son, are you going to come in or just stand out there and catch a cold?"

Ace froze, his mind already racing wildly to come up with an excuse _Oh, I was just… admiring the woodwork_ or _Oh, I had a question, but I know the answer now_ , but they all seemed stupid, and before he knew it Ace was poking his head in through the door and asking hesitantly, "Are you sure it's alright for me to come in?"

For a split second, he saw Whitebeard's eyes widen in surprise (enough time for him to think, _He didn't think it would be me, he doesn't want to see me…)_ before the old man's features softened and he gently gestured to a chair. "Take a seat, son." He offered. "What brings you to talk with this old man?"

Ace stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I… uh, I just wanted to apologize… again… for trying to kill you." He mumbled. Embarrassment flooded over him as he thought about how stupid it was to say something that Whitebeard already knew. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, I'll just…"

"No, no." Whitebeard's voice was as gentle as ever as he stood up and took Ace's hand. "Come and sit, if you can spare enough time to chat with me. I'm feeling a bit lonely."

"A-are you sure?" Ace bit his lower lip as he shuffled awkwardly and mumbled, "If it wouldn't bother you too much…"

"Not at all." Whitebeard laughed. "You are my son. You are never intruding. I'll always be here for you."

 _Are you sure?_ Ace wanted to repeat, but he didn't want to sound stupid or make Whitebeard feel irritated with him, so he just nodded and sat down, frustrated with the confusing warmth in his chest and the paranoid fear in his head screaming, _You don't know if you can trust him yet_.

"Thanks." He croaked, instead of telling Whitebeard about the hundreds of doubts that he suddenly wanted to blurt out.

 _Don't be stupid, why are you trusting him so easily?_ Ace's head screamed at him, but at Whitebeard's warm smile, Ace could feel doubt already beginning to flood his chest as he wondered if he just might be able to trust the man… _No, you can't. Roger was his enemy, remember? He'd kill you the moment he found out._

"So, what ails you, child?" Whitebeard asked, his voice still gentle and calm. At Ace's startled expression, he chuckled and expanded, "You're disturbed by a lot more than just wanting to apologize again, right?"

"No, I just…" Ace chewed anxiously at his lower lip, hanging his head as the words refused to come out. "…It's nothing. I'm fine. There was nothing more that was wrong."

Before he could stand up to leave and apologize for taking up Whitebeard's time, there were big, warm arms wrapping themselves around him as Whitebeard whispered, "That's a lie, and we both know it. You're not okay, and I'm not letting you go until you are."

Ace hated the weak, helpless feeling that washed over him as the world began to blur and it started to get hard to breath. "I'm fine." He wanted to yell, but it came out a timid croak. "Just leave me alone." He attempted to shove Whitebeard, but the old man held firm and refused to let go. Ace repeated his words, his voice beginning to regain the cold, harsh anger that he had wanted to summon at first. "Just _leave me alone_."

The arms wrapped around tighter. "Never." Whitebeard vowed. "You'll never be alone, as long as you're my son."

"What if I'm not your son?" Ace demanded. "What if you start to hate me, or get sick of me, or…"

"That'll never happen." Whitebeard's voice, though firm, was still soft. "You're my son."

Ace shook his head. "You don't want me as a son." He replied, unsure about why he was even arguing. _I wanted to stay… I like it here… I don't want to leave, I want to be his son, so why am I acting like this?_ He hated himself for messing this up, as he continued, "You'll eventually hate me, and disown me."

Whitebeard's chuckle was low and deep as he replied, "That's quite the imagination that you have. But that's all it is, fantasies." He pulled away, concern written over his features. "Unless you want to leave?"

"No… I just…" Ace swiped angrily at his eyes. _Why are you crying, you stupid eyes? Stop it! You're going to seem weak…_

But Whitebeard wasn't looking at him with pity, just some strange emotion that he couldn't identify, but felt warm and kind and comforting…

"You're my son, no matter what." Whitebeard repeated firmly. " _Alright?"_

Ace nodded. "Yeah." He mumbled. "Alright."

Whitebeard sat back, satisfied as he asked, "Would you like to stay a little longer?"

 _Yes…_

"Yes."

It wasn't until lunch, 5 hours later, that they parted ways.

0o0o0o0o0

Aiji didn't quite know what to make of Portgas D. Ace.

For one thing, he was spontaneous. Childish. Impulsive. Just overall strange…

So, though he shouldn't have been, he was very surprised when suddenly, as each of the 2nd division members did their own thing (as they tended to), Ace suddenly yelled out in frustration and leaped up, before pointing an accusing finger at each of them and demanding, " _What is this!?_ "

They all gawked at him for a moment, before Sawan, a quiet woman who spent most of her time in the ship's library, asked the question that had been in all their minds, and asked, "What is what?"

Ace scowled as he gestured at them, and exclaimed, "This—this _lonely_ air! You guys are supposed to be a family, aren't you? Why can't you act like one?"

Some members of the crew glanced at each other, before someone mumbled, "We do…"

"No you don't!" Ace's scowl deepened as he put his hands on his hips. "You guys act like you barely know each other! Family is supposed to talk with each other, spend time with each other! Do you even know everyone else's names?"

There was an awkward silence, before another member of the 2nd division piped up and asked, "Well, what do _you_ think family does?"

Ace crossed his arms over his chest as he rolled his eyes. "Easy." He replied as though speaking to a child. "You stay with each other, cherish each other, and talk with each other! You draw and paint together, and laugh at how bad your drawings are! You drink hot chocolate and see who can stuff the most marshmallows in the cup without making it overflow! You stay up until morning talking to each other and laughing! You don't—family doesn't—act like _this_. Like you barely know each other."

There was a shocked silence, before Aiji spoke and clapped. "Good speech, Portgas." He flushed when everyone turned to look at him. "But do you want to be a family like that with us?"

Ace turned to look at him, intense grey eyes boring into him, before nodding and declaring, "Of course."

"Then we'll give you one like that." A voice called out as people started to stand up, one after the other. "We'll be the closest family that you've ever seen!"

Aiji nodded, determination swelling up inside of him though he still didn't quite understand it. "So, what do we do first, Portgas?" He asked.

Ace grinned. "First off, you call me Ace." He laughed. "And second off… let's have a party! 2nd Division members only! No sake, either, you'll want to remember tonight. We'll tell stories, play games, and do everything fun and cool! Then, tomorrow morning, we're going to all wear purple."

There was only a beat of silence, before someone called out, "Why are we all going to wear purple, tomorrow?"

Ace's grin grew infectionous and wide as he replied, "Because it's cool!"

There were groans and mumbles of, "That idiot…" before everyone agreed to wear purple, and the 2nd Division party began.

Watching as Ace jumped into the fray and started chatting comfortably with everyone, Aiji could help but think of the fact that the 2nd Division Commander spot hadn't been taken in a while.

 _He'll lead us._ Aiji decided. _He doesn't know it yet, but he will._

And Aiji would gladly follow him.

 **A/N:** Uh, so, this is late… but I was spamming a lot of oneshots lately, so that might, maybe, kinda, not really make it okay? Sorry, and it was so short and bad, too… I'll attempt to make the next one better?


	18. The Origin of Orange Day

**Response to Guest:** Thanks! I'm glad to know that you weren't weirded out by the sudden change in the second half, and I also want to more Whitebeard/Ace father/son type scenes. Thanks a lot for taking the time to tell me how you felt about it!

 **Response to SomeRandomGirl:** Of course you can make a request! You guys can always make requests, and I'll do my best to do what you want (as long as it's fluffy or hurt/comfort or family type stuff. I can't handle anything other than that…). And Ace is definitely going to call Whitebeard Oyaji one of these days, and I'll try to remember to make it as big as possible, just for you. Thanks for taking the time to read this fic, and to give me your request!

Ace had been acting strangely all day.

Last night, some concerned 2nd Division members had gone to Marco reporting that Ace hadn't slept at all the previous night… instead staying up and blankly looking up at the sky, which was strange because when he wasn't on watch Ace slept like the dead.

Or, at least, Marco supposed, he _usually_ did.

During breakfast that morning, despite usually being hyper and talkative and eating at least ten plates of food, Ace was strangely quiet and stirred around his food moodily, only managing to eat a few bites of his scrambled egg and bacon before standing up, apologizing softly, and leaving the dining room.

Marco looked concerned, but seemed patient and willing to give Ace some more time to sort things up himself.

Thatch, on the other hand, refused to wait for any more signs that something was wrong with Ace _(because what if he killed himself or something equally stupid because they waited too long?)_ and didn't even bother finishing his own breakfast as he picked up Ace's plate and his own and heading up to the one place that he knew Ace always was when he was unhappy: the crow's nest.

He had barely poked his head over the edge, before Ace's voice asked in an unfamiliarly soft and polite tone, "Please go away."

The rest of Thatch's head popped up, soon followed by his body, as he took in Ace's red eyes, his trembling scowl, and the slight shaking of his fingers as he traced his ASCE tattoo ( _the way that he did whenever he was nervous… bad, bad sign)_ , and staunchly declared, "No way. You're my brother, and I'm not leaving you alone when something is clearly wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." Ace mumbled as his eyes shifted to the side uncomfortably.

Thatch snorted. "If nothing's wrong, then I'm the Fleet Admiral. You've been acting weird all day. What's up?"

Ace scowled. "It's none of your business." He bit out angrily, before flushing, and withdrawing awkwardly.

Thatch mentally groaned as he crawled towards Ace. _Looks like this will require time._ "I brought an offering." He declared in the most dramatic voice he could muster, all things considering. "So, if you're willing, it can _become_ my business."

Ace shook his head. "It can't become your business." He replied stubbornly. "You wouldn't care."

This time, Thatch decided to groan out loud. "Ace, I'm your _brother_." He exclaimed in exasperation, frowning when he noticed Ace cringing at the word 'brother'. _Is he regretting his decision to become one of us?_ Thatch wondered nervously, as he continued speaking, "You can trust us with anything. We're family, right?"

Ace's eyes flickered over to him… dark, gray, and pensive… before going back to the tattoo on his arm.

Thatch stared at the tattoo as well, understanding that it had something to do with Ace's strange behavior… but what? The only time anyone ever acted so strange was when…

Oh.

 _You idiot._ Thatch mentally chided himself, grousing at the fact that he hadn't realized it sooner. _Of_ course _he'd have a day like this! Everyone on the crew does, and just because he's young, doesn't mean that he's any different._

The realization came sharp and painful, that Ace _had_ seen the darkness of the world, even if he seemed to be innocent, and that they couldn't protect him from it.

Heck, a few weeks ago, Thatch would have declared that Ace _was_ the darkness of the world, with his stupid persistence in killing Oyaji.

It didn't matter, now, though. Ace was his little brother.

 _My stupid, stupid little brother._

Thatch wrapped his arms around Ace, and could feel him flinching slightly, before stiffly stilling. "Sorry, kiddo." Thatch mumbled into Ace's shoulder. "Shouldn't have pushed you."

"I'm not a kid." Ace muttered childishly under his breath, before adding uncomfortably, "And it's okay. Thanks, I guess. Um, you can let go now."

"I don't wanna let go." Thatch whined. "You're sad, and I'm not letting go until you're not sad anymore."

Ace laughed. "That's Luffy logic, right there." He noted fondly.

"No it's not!" Thatch argued. "It's Thatch logic, because I'm Thatch, and it's my logic, so it's the logic that belongs to Thatch, therefore, it's Thatch logic! How dare you say that my logic belongs to Luffy?"

Ace's arms wrapped around Thatch in something warm, and comforting, strangely reminding Thatch of how Oyaji and Marco had held him when he needed it… like someone older, not Ace's age.

 _He's treating you like his stupid little brother._ One part of his mind grumbled. _That's so not okay._

 _Whatever._ The more dominant part of his mind replied sleepily. _I feel safe._

 _Safe! This is embarrassing! Where's your sense of dignity as a man?_

…It _was_ kind of embarrassing… _Eh. Who cares? This is my honor as a brother._

 _You're hopeless._ He could imagine a little cynical chibi Thatch throwing up his hands and drowning in a river…

…Maybe he _was_ kind of hopeless. And possibly insane.

"Thanks for trying to comfort me, Thatch." Ace whispered.

"Did it work?" Thatch asked, his words slightly muffled from his position.

There was a beat of silence, and the terrifying thought of, _You failed,_ raced through his mind, before Ace laughed, and replied, "Have you got anything orange?"

"Orange?" Thatch repeated, flabbergasted. "Why?"

Ace smiled slightly as he pulled away from the hug (this time Thatch let him), and replied, "Well, there was this one time…"

0o0o0o0

"Ace! Ace! ACEACEACE!" Luffy raced towards the still form of his older brother with a small trinket cupped in his small fingers. "Ace, look at this!"

Ace's eyes flickered up to peer at the small orange bit of glass in Luffy's fingers.

"Isn't it pretty, Ace?" Luffy asked hopefully as he held it up.

Ace lifted his fingers to tousle Luffy's hair, the edges of his lips still turned downwards even as he agreed, "It's beautiful, Lu. Why don't you go show it to Dadan and the others? I'm sure that they'll love it."

Luffy nodded. "I will." He agreed as he sat down. "But do you really like it?"

Ace's brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't I?" He asked.

"Because Ace isn't smiling." Luffy replied simply. "If Ace doesn't like something, Ace doesn't smile. You don't seem to like anything, lately. You've never smiled. Not since…" He cut himself off, before tossing Ace a glance filled with concern.

Ace froze, his fingers coming to an abrupt halt from carding through Luffy's hair as he finished the sentence in wonder, "…I haven't smiled since Sabo died?"

Luffy's smile slipped from his features as well as he ducked his head away, shoulders shifted up as high as they could go as he tucked his knees into his chest, hid his face, and mumbled so softly that Ace could barely hear it, "Yeah."

Ace shifted uncomfortably as he wrapped his arms around Luffy, a painful lump growing in his throat. "Sorry, Lu." He buried his face in Luffy's hair, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "I didn't know."

"It's okay." Luffy replied, his face still hidden in his knees. "You'll talk when you're ready, I know. Dadan and Makino and the Mayor all said that. And when you talk, you'll be happier and start smiling again. I can wait."

"That's not an excuse for me not being a good big brother." Ace replied angrily. "I can't be selfish while you're still sad." As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, Luffy tensed under his arms, and a wave of regret washed over Ace. _Great job, you great idiot, now you've made him feel guilty._

"I'm not as bad as you." Luffy replied firmly as he pushed Ace away and stood up, eyes rimmed with red even as they narrowed in determination. "I'll make you smile, Ace, I promise!"

And so, he tried. He seemed fascinated with the color purple, and for some strange reason had decided that orange was the color to make Ace smile.

Orange food.

Orange leafs.

Orange trinkets, from the dump.

And most importantly, an orange hat.

"Just like Sabo's and mines!" Luffy declared proudly as he placed it firmly on Ace's head.

The strange yet oddly familiar warmth on his forehead felt painfully nostalgic, as Ace tugged it down to cover his eyes. "Yeah." He agreed, voice cracking even as he whipped his head so that Luffy wouldn't see the tears running down his cheeks. "Just like you and Sabo."

Luffy wrapped his arms around Ace, holding him gently for a while before declaring, "Makino says that crying can make you feel better, because all the bad feelings come out." He declared. "So that means the next thing will make you smile!"

Ace managed a pale ghost of a smile after that. "Alright, Lu." He agreed softly. "It'll make me smile for sure."

And it did. A bright orange butterfly that Luffy had thought to be a fallen leaf, Luffy's shocked shout of surprise when it's wings twitched and flew from his fingers, and then the childish wonder that enveloped his features as he watched it fly away made Ace laugh, and a bright smile of relief that Ace had finally seemed happy lit Luffy's features for the rest of that day.

0o0o0o0

"And from then on, I guess that the color orange just makes me feel better." Ace concluded awkwardly, ducking his head in embarrassment. "I know, it's kind of lame, but…"

"That's so sweet!" Thatch interrupted happily as he glommed another hug onto Ace. "It's amazing! Today is going to be Orange Day. From now on, every once a year, we're having an orange day."

Ace turned bright red as he began to protest, "But…!"

"No buts." Thatch cut in with a shake of his finger as he pushed Ace away from him. "We're doing it. And to begin, we're going to have an orange feast."

Ace rolled his eyes. "That's overly excessive." He muttered. "And everyone else is going to be confused about why all the food is orange."

"It'll be fine." Thatch insisted. "We already have a Pink day and a Blue day, so everyone will be fine with an Orange Day."

Ace's eyebrows knit themselves together as he demanded, "Why do you have a Pink day and a Blue day?"

Thatch waved a hand flippantly. "Long story, doesn't matter now. What matters is that it's Orange Day, and that we've got to spread the word. You go tell Oyaji, I'll inform the rest of the chefs."

"But—"

"No buts, Ace!" Thatch exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I thought we already went over this! Just shut up and go along with it, you stupid little brother."

Ace sighed. "You're such an idiot, Thatch." He grumbled as he started to climb over the side of the crow's nest to jump down.

"But I made you smile." Thatch replied brightly.

Ace blinked, eyes wide, before pressing his hand onto his cheeks in amazement. "You did." He realized, as his smile widened even further. "Thanks, Thatch."

Thatch offered Ace an equally wide smile. "Anything for my little brother." He replied cheerfully.

Ace grinned in reply.

 _Maybe I lost a brother._ He decided as he flung himself off the edge of the crow's nest, whooping cheerfully. _But I've got some new ones._

 _Sabo, you'll be my brother forever, and you're really important to me._

… _But I've got a new family now, and I can live without you now._

 _Thanks for everything._

And so, Orange Day commenced.

 **A/N:** I'm super late this time. Sorry! Life intervened, and I think that my updates are going to be a lot slower now. And this was short, and bad, but… thanks for being patient with me and stuff. (I dunno, maybe you forgot that my story existed. That's okay, too.)


	19. Learning to Read

**Reply to SomeRandomPerson:** So, I take it that you're a Thatch fan? (What a coincidence, I am too.) Thanks for reviewing! (as for replying to you, would you prefer I reply on top or the bottom? Or does it not matter?)

 **A/N:** Some of you might not like this chapter, since it's mainly OCs, but I thought that it was important to get Ace to bond with the 2nd Division. So, if any of you dislike OCs, feel free to skip this chapter.

The issue first arose when Ace leaped into the 2nd Division Quarters, excitedly waving around a slightly torn envelope as he shouted, "Looklooklook, I've got a letter from Luffy and Dadan and the others!"

Aiji, who had gotten quite close to Ace after that first party, was the first to pull his head out from under his pillow, throw it at Ace, and yell, "Shut up, you idiot, it's still 3 in the morning!"

Ace caught the pillow and threw it back at Aiji, who was unfortunately too sleepy to catch it in time—with his hands, at least—he managed to catch it with his face, and protested loudly through muffled yells. "Why can't I be excited about this?" He demanded.

"You can be excited." Holly, one of the members of the crew who preferred to go to sleep at midnight and wake up at noon, mumbled into her pillow halfheartedly. "Just don't do it at three in the morning."

"Too late." Saki, Riso's twin, sighed as he rolled over and flicked on the lights. "Ri, you awake?"

Riso leaped off her spot where she had the top bunk and grumbled sourly, "I am _now_ , thanks to a certain loudmouth who's waaay too attached to his little brother."

Ace flushed. "Sorry guys." He mumbled. "I was just excited, I guess. I really wanted to know what they wrote."

At this, Holly raised an eyebrow. "You can't read!" She realized with a groan. "And you want someone to read it to you."

"I know how to read!" Ace exclaimed childishly. "I just… forgot some things, is all."

"Do you know your alphabet?" Saki raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"…I know what an alphabet _is_." Ace mumbled.

"You can't read!" Holly threw her hands up in the air. "Yuu-chan, this is up to you!" She crossed the room in a few short strides and pulled the blanket off a suspicious hump to reveal a dark haired girl reading a book by flashlight.

The girl under the covers flailed for a moment, before grabbing the covers back and ducking back under them. "Stop doing that, Holly!" Her muffled yell resounded form under the covers.

"I'll stop doing that when you stop reading by flashlight." Holly replied with a roll of her eyes as she planted her hands on her hips. "Seriously, do you _know_ how bad that is for your eyes?"

"Leave me alone." Was the muffled reply.

"Teach Ace how to read, and I will."

There was a beat of silence, before Yuu sullenly poked her head out of the covers and peered at Ace curiously. "…You can't read?" She asked in a much gentler voice than she had been using with Holly.

Ace blushed. "It didn't seem that important, where I came from." He replied defensively.

Yuu sighed. "Do you want to learn to read?" She prodded, her voice still gentle.

Ace lifted his shoulders, his cheeks still flushed crimson. "…I'm not very good at learning things that need thinking." He admitted sullenly. "My brother says that I'm all muscle and no brain."

Yuu rolled her eyes as she pushed a brown lock of hair from her eyes, her forehead already beginning to crease in concentration as she replied, "Well, I'm your sister, and I say that reading is an experience that everyone should be able to have."

Aiji grinned. "It's true, though." He snickered. "You _are_ all muscle and no brain."

It was barely a second later when he was bombarded by four pillows, still laughing.

0o0o0o0

The library on the Moby Dick was a grand room, with heavily filled, majestic volumes filling the room like meat filled Luffy's mind. A glittering chandelier hung from the ceiling, though the light a little hard to see between the tall stacks of musty paper.

Ace's jaw dropped. "Since when was the ship so big?" He wondered weakly.

Yuu laughed. "That's how most people feel when they see the library." She consoled him lightly as she wove her way easily through the maze of books and tables and randomly strewn paper. "But it's really not as intimidating as it looks, once you get used to it."

"You can get used to _this_?" Aiji, who had decided to accompany them (though Ace wasn't sure whether it was to make fun of him, or to actually be there for moral support), gawked as he ran his finger along a dusty bookshelf. "Do people even come here?"

"Some people _sleep_ here." Yuu sighed wistfully. "Which I would have done, if it weren't for Holly forcing me to sleep in the 2nd Division cabin." She added some displeased comments under her breath, which eventually even Ace turned red at the amount of insults and curses. (Something Aiji had never thought possibly, and was greatly amused by.)

"You're weird." Aiji declared.

Yuu turned red as she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, and replied, "I'm not _that_ weird."

"Yes, you are." Aiji rolled his eyes. "I hate to break it to you, shorty, but this..." Aiji's nose wrinkled as he looked around the room. "This place isn't suitable for living."

"I'm not short." Yuu exclaimed. "And this place is perfectly fine!"

"I'm speaking the truth. I only speak the truth. You're just in denial, because not only are you the shortest person I know, this place is unsuitable for living." Aiji declared as he poked at a book gingerly. A cloud of dust exploded into his face and he coughed as dramatically as he could manage in between his real coughs. "How can people _breath_ in here?"

"We manage, somehow." A dry voice responded as Yuu finally brought them to a clearing in the library. A hunched figure with eyes hidden behind thick rimmed glasses peered up, before pushing dusty blond hair from it's eyes and grinning widely. "Yuu-chan, you're back!"

"Hi, Mori." Yuu grinned brightly as she raced forwards and pulled him into a tight hug. "I've brought someone who wants to learn to read," She gestured, and Ace shuffled awkwardly before waving slightly. Yuu moved her finger so that it pointed at Aiji, "And a pesky fly that insists on stalking us."

Aiji spluttered unhappily. "Did you just call me a _fly_?" He demanded.

Yuu stuck her tongue out childishly. "I'm speaking the truth. I only speak the truth." She quoted him haughtily. "You're just in denial."

"I'm not in denial!" Aiji spluttered.

"That's _exactly_ what someone in denial would say." Ace pointed out, the edges of his lips beginning to pull themselves up into a smirk.

"Not, you, too, Ace!" Aiji groaned as he dramatically pressed the back of his hand against his forehead, groaning loudly, "You've all turned against me! I'm alone in this world of book worms!"

"I'm not a bookworm." Ace pointed out, straight faced, before turning to Aiji and smirking evilly. "...Yet." He added, to Aiji's dismay.

"You will be, soon." Mori assured Ace, smiling palely. "If Yuu-chan can properly work her magic on you, you would probably never want to leave the library ever again."

Ace paled. "No, I don't want that to happen!" He quickly protested. "I want to go to the mess hall and to spar with other people, too!"

"I don't want it to happen, either!" Aiji whined. "I want someone to make fun of!"

"What?" Ace demanded.

Yuu burst into laughter. "It won't actually happen." She assured him as she lightly punched Mori. "He's just joking."

"You don't know that." Mori replied seriously.

Yuu smiled in amusement, and turned back to Ace. "He is, don't worry." She repeated. "I won't actually make you obsessed with reading. You seem the type of person who likes the real world as it is."

"I like the real world." Ace agreed.

Mori wrinkled his nose. "What's there to like?" He demanded.

"What's there _not_ to like?" Ace challenged.

" _Everything."_ Mori replied with a slight shake of his head, before burying his nose back into his book. "We've got a messed up world. Pretty place, it's a shame about the people living inside of it, though."

Yuu groaned. "Don't get him started, he'll never stop." She warned Ace.

"Speaking of starting, you should _start_ to teach Ace how to read!" Aiji reminded Yuu brightly.

"Ah, right." Yuu nodded, and turned to Ace. "Let's gets started."

0o0o0o0

It was a few days later when the group finally emerged, Yuu looking exhausted but victorious, and Aiji looking traumatized, while Ace looked as energetic as ever and yelled cheerfully as he raced into the room, "I did it! I did it! I CAN READ!" and proceeded to whoop loudly before racing over to Whitebeard and grinning proudly up at him. "Hey, Whitebeard, guess what?" He grinned. "I can read now!"

"Yes, you can." Whitebeard agreed, an amused smile gracing his lips as he reached down and ruffled Ace's hair fondly. "I heard that you were learning from some members of your division when you didn't show up for breakfast and sent Aiji to get it for you."

"I needed some way to escape." Aiji moaned, his hands buried in his face. "I never thought that getting sidetracked like that when learning the _alphabet..._ the alphabet, of all things!... was _possible_..."

He shuddered in horror while Yuu giggled, clearly amused by her brother's pain. "Anything is possible with the alphabet." She replied cheerfully.

"What happened?" Thatch demanded as he squinted at Ace cheerfully talking to Whitebeard about something or the other. His face fell as he surmised, "Ace doesn't look very affected."

"He's not." Yuu agreed. "It's not a big deal."

"It was _definitely_ a big deal." Aiji shuddered.

Yuu simply smiled.

Meanwhile, Ace had hopped onto Whitebeard's legs and was excitedly telling him about his adventures in the library, and about how exciting being able to read was.

Finally, he paused, and asked, "Whitebeard, how come you weren't surprised when I told you that I could read? Everyone else was."

Whitebeard laughed, and replied lightly, "Because you're my son, and I know that you can do whatever you set your mind to doing."

Ace flushed. "I'm not really that amazing, though." He replied as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Of course you're amazing." Whitebeard replied. "Besides, since you're my son, I'm sure that I'm allowed a little bias. Now, I heard that you got a letter from your little brother, Luffy?"

Ace grinned proudly as he nodded, handing the letter to Whitebeard. "Can you read it to me?" He asked softly.

Whitebeard accepted it. "How come?" He asked. "Wouldn't you rather read it to me, and show off your amazing reading skills?"

"Nah." Ace replied with a shake of his head. "I like the sound of your voice."

Whitebeard laughed. "Alright, son." He replied as he smoothed the letter out and began to read. "Ace, you won't believe what happened yesterday..."

 **A/N:** I hope this turned out okay. The ending was kind of iffy, so, sorry about that. I was writing this in very unreccommended hours last night, and nearly fell asleep in Geography class, so I hope it's not too obvious that I was half asleep when I wrote this...


	20. Halloween Special

**A/N:** I'M BACK! School is evil. Sorry for updating so late, guys. This chapter's short, since it's more like an omake, but I'll get a chapter up by my birthday (November 8), one for Christmas, and hopefully one on Ace's birthday (January 1) if I'm lucky enough and don't have too much school stuff. Thanks for being so patient. (Sorry this chapter's so bad, though.)

Ace first heard of Halloween from a stodgy old man that had caught him stealing food.

"You kids." The old man grumbled sourly, shaking his head as he paced the floor unsteadily. "You should be out, getting all dressed up for Halloween and begging strangers for candy. Instead you're stealing food because you're too hungry to move properly."

Ace frowned. "What's Halloween?" He demanded.

"What's Halloween!" The old man barked in laughter, a scoffing laugh filled with disappointment. "Look at what the nobles have made us."

At the time, Ace focused on stealing the bread. But in the back of his mind a small, persistent curiosity had been sparked.

* * *

Sabo first heard of it when he glanced out the window, his servants preparing him for yet another dull noble's ball in an attempt to set him up with a rich girl.

"What's that?" He asked the servant adjusting his bow tie as he peered out at the firefly like lights each following each other in a line, and the oddly bright colors accompanying them.

The servant peered at him hesitantly, as though wondering whether Sabo was tricking her or not... then peered dutifully out the window. Her eyes lit up with nostalgia as she replied, "Why, that's the little children going out trick or treating on Halloween, master Sabo."

"What do they do?" Sabo asked curiously.

She explained, and Sabo frowned.

"But mother says that candy's bad for you."

It must have seemed a weak protest to her, for the servant girl laughed, but instantly clamped her hands over her mouth in surprise. "The people don't care." She replied. "At least, not for today. It's only once a year, after all, and it's all in good fun."

"...May I go sometime?" Sabo asked hesitantly.

The servant quickly shook her head. "Your mother would never approve." She replied quickly.

"Oh." Sabo frowned as he cast a glance outside.

 _When I'm free..._

* * *

"Remember, Luffy, you only take _one_ candy from each house." Makino reminded the bouncing boy as she readjusted the eyepatch hanging loosely above his eyebrow.

"Why?" Luffy demanded, sticking his lower lip out in a childish pout. "They put it there, so I'm _supposed_ to take lots of it, right?"

Shanks fixed a stern look upon him, and replied firmly, " _No_. From what I heard about the incident last year, I'm surprised that they don't keep you under lock and key."

Luffy turned away and started to whistle nervously. "I... I don't know what you're talking about." He lied.

Makino and Shanks exchanged fond looks, before Shanks ruffled his head and replied teasingly, "Whatever you say, Anchor."

Makino pulled Luffy's hand into her own, and asked, "Ready to go, Pirate King?"

Luffy beamed back at her. "For sure!" He cheered. "Shanks, are _you_ ready?"

Shanks stuck out his tongue. "Bet I can get more candy than you." He replied teasingly.

"No you can't!" Luffy protested.

"It's on." Shanks laughed.

Meanwhile, the Red Hair Pirates exchanged bets on who would win.

* * *

 ** _A Few Years Later..._**

When Luffy heard that Ace and Sabo had never gone trick or treating, he was indignant. "You _have_ to!" He exclaimed childishly. "You have to dress up and go get candy and go _bam_ on people's doors and then they give you free stuff and everyone else does it too but sometimes weird old ladies pinch your cheeks and..."

"Whoa, whoa." Sabo cut in, an amused smile gracing his lips. "Slow down, Lu."

"You're going too fast, idiot." Ace agreed as he swatted the back of Luffy's head. "So, we just dress up and go to the houses of random strangers to get free _candy_?"

Luffy nodded.

"Sounds fun." Sabo noted brightly. "Let's do it."

"Do we have a choice?" Ace scoffed. "Just look at how excited Luffy is."

"Makino already has costumes prepared for us!" Luffy informed them cheerfully.

Ace and Sabo exchanged glances.

"Free candy." Sabo shrugged.

"...I've never tasted candy before." Ace admitted.

"Well, now we will." Sabo laughed. "We'll put you on a sugar high!"

"I've never heard of that drug." Ace frowned.

Sabo laughed even harder.

* * *

 ** _Years Later..._**

"You've heard of Halloween?" Thatch gasped.

Ace dipped his head into a nod and lifted a shoulder into a half hearted shrug, and replied, "Luffy first introduced me to it, and Sabo..." He paused, and jerked his head slightly, before continuing, "Sabo had done some research before he... before he met us, so he was quite excited about it."

"But you don't know about _anything._ " Thatch whined. "You were supposed to be away from society, raised by wolves, remember?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "I don't remember saying that." He replied.

"There was a contract." Thatch insisted.

Ace raised an eyebrow.

"An invisible one." Thatch amended sulkily.

"Riiight..." Ace replied sarcastically. "So, how do you celebrate Halloween on the Moby Dick?"

A wide smile spread across Thatch's features. "Try to take off your hat." He replied.

"You didn't."

"Trick or treat!" Thatch laughed as he skipped away.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

 **A/N:** So, I lost a bet... and as a result, I must inform you guys that I have a blog. It's on quillium . weebly . com (without the spaces). Don't check it out. It sucks. It's lame. You'll know how lame I am (Even more than you already do). Sorry for wasting your time with this A/N. (Trust me, it wasn't my idea.)


	21. Aram

**A/N:** As promised, it's my birthday and here's the chapter. Please be okay with it, even though it sucks. Sorry I'm taking so long to update...

Everyone on the ship was acting strangely. There was a quiet… _eerily quiet_ … air around the older members, and the newer members seemed to understand, as they skirted around like bandits and while not as sullen, seemed to be in deep thought.

Breakfast seemed an oddly melancholy affair, and it was all Ace could do to hold in the question of, _What's going on?_

Thatch's usually exuberant air seemed to have deserted him as he halfheartedly scooped a spoonful of mashed potatoes into Ace's plate, "Morning, Ace." He sighed wearily as he poured some gravy on top.

"Not a very good morning." Ace noted with a slight frown. "What's wrong?"

Thatch offered him a halfhearted smile. "It's... it's just today. It brings up some..." He passed a hand over his face, like a ghost. "...some bad memories, I suppose."

"What..." Ace paused as the realization struck him, and he asked in a softer voice, "Who?" He paused, and then flushed. "I mean, if you don't mind or anything. If you do mind, then you don't have to tell me. It's just..." He ducked his head down, and shrugged awkwardly.

"I don't mind." Thatch replied, lifting one shoulder into a shrug. "It was Aram, our second division commander. I was, um, close to him, so it's just a little hard to..." He bit his lower lip, then raised his hand to make a vague gesture, before shaking his head and sighing again. "Yeah."

"I get it." Ace agreed quietly as he put down his tray. "He was... the second division commander? The division that I'm in?"

Thatch nodded. "He was really strong. Only Oyaji and one or two of the commanders could beat him. When he was around, the second division was really strong, too. More like a family. After he... you know... it sort of just fell apart." He paused and raised his head to peer curiously at Ace. "But now that you're here, it's kind of like when he was around. Everyone's a bit closer, now."

Ace blinked owlishly at Thatch, and offered him an awkward smile before asking, "How about I take over for you? You should take a break from serving people food. You've got enough on your mind, already."

"I can't..." Thatch shook his head, and frowned distantly at Ace. "You'll mess up my kitchen, you disaster freak."

Ace rolled his eyes. "I'm be extra careful today." He promised. "You go and talk with the others. Try to feel better, you look creepy when you don't have your stupid smile."

"...You'll burn down my kitchen." Thatch replied with a shake of his head. "You're a pyromaniac. And a kleptomaniac. You'll steal things from my kitchen. You'll finish off the chocolate cake that I made last week. You'll down the icing sugar. You'll throw flour everywhere. You'll... you'll mess it up."

"I haven't done any of those things." Ace replied, bewildered.

"I know." Thatch agreed. "Because I'm not stupid enough to let you into my kitchen."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Thatch, just trust me and go."

"I don't know if I should trust you."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You're spilling gravy onto the spaghetti."

Thatch raised the spoon, startled, and sighed, "I guess you're right. I'd probably make an equally big mess. I'm too distracted today."

"Exactly." Ace agreed in satisfaction. "I'll serve, and everything will be fine."

And oddly enough, it was.

0o0o0o0o0

When Ace found Aiji, oddly enough, he was in the library with Yuu and Mori. Holly was there as well, sketching a picture of Yuu reading.

Even more oddly, despite the fact that Aiji and Yuu were together... something that was usually a loud affair and consisted of them tossing barbs at each other... the atmosphere was heavily quiet and somber.

Mori was hunched in a corner, his shoulders pushing up his ears and his knees drawn tight to his chest. Aiji sat across from him, idly polishing a knife, while Yuu leaned against his arm and read a book so thick that it made Ace dizzy just looking at it. Holly lay on her stomach across from Yuu, and seemed to be chattering about something or the other... but even she seemed detached from her words, babbling only to settle her nerves.

Though he'd felt just fine when he was searching for them, now that he had found them Ace felt an uncomfortable knot tying itself in it's stomach.

Luckily, he was spared the need to speak when Aiji noticed him and called out, "Ace!", his voice filled with obvious relief.

"Aiji." Ace returned the greeting, feeling equally relieved. "It's good to see you."

Aiji offered him a ghost of a smile, and replied in an uncharacteristically halfhearted tease, "Yeah, you too, you pyromaniac."

Ace frowned slightly as he sat down and peered curiously at Aiji. "You're feeling down, too?" He asked rhetorically.

Aiji's ghost smile vanished as he slipped bright smile onto his lips... dimpled cheeks, bright eyes, flashing teeth. If Ace had never met Luffy, had never seen Luffy's empty smile, he might have fallen for it. "What do you mean?" Aiji asked with faux innocence. "I'm fine."

"Don't bother." Yuu murmured as she knocked lightly on his forehead, her eyes never leaving her page as she pressed her back even firmly against Aiji's. "Ace can tell when somebody's empty. Besides, we're family. You're not supposed to smile like that... at least, not to us."

"That's right." Ace agreed as he crouched down, head tipped loosely to the side, thin fingers barely tracing the ground. "I hate seeing smiles like that. My little brother... well, Luffy, I've got a lot of little brothers now, I guess... he used to smile like that." He lifted a hand and traced a smile onto his cheeks. "I hated it."

"Sorry." Aiji's smile slipped as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Just... habit, I guess."

"Bad habit." Holly replied as she erased a line and redrew Yuu's neck. "Yuu, stop moving, my proportions are already awful, I don't need to mess them up even more."

Yuu offered Holly a breathy laugh... not exactly amused, but more as though she had needed to laugh, and Holly had given her an escape... tinged with relief. "Sorry." She replied. "I won't move anymore."

"For that to happen, you'd have to stop breathing." Mori cut into the conversation dryly.

"That would be bad." Ace agreed.

For a long moment... so stretched out that it was almost painful... silence filled the room.

Then, Holly agreed in a soft, slightly cracked voice, "Y-yeah, that would be really, really..." She paused, and lowered her head so that her hair blocked her face from view, " _Really bad_."

Mori seemed to have realized his mistake, because he instantly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to... that wasn't supposed to..." He trailed off, and muttered to himself, "I'm such an idiot."

"You're just fine." Yuu reassured him, a pale smile dimming her feature. "We know that it was just a joke."

"It was a dumb one." Aiji agreed, picking distractedly at loose threads in the cloth that he was using to clean his blades.

"Sorry." Mori repeated, seeming for once to have no insult to throw back at Aiji.

Silence reigned. Yuu looked slightly pained, as though she wanted to reassure Mori, but didn't know how to, while Aiji's features had become far more faded than usual, almost like those of a lost child. Holly was staring at her drawing, a blank expression that Ace remembered Sabo as always having when he was with his parents drawn tightly across her pressed lips and dead eyes.

Ace scowled. "Stop saying sorry." He told Mori firmly. "You don't need to say it, they get it. Besides, you're family, it's not like they want you to feel worse. You're always there for them, so go and _be there_ for them. You didn't really mess up, you'll only mess up if you just sit there in self pity and not telling them how much you care."

Mori cast the silent three a contemplative look, before mumbling, "I think they need time alone."

"Maybe." Ace agreed. "But they don't need to feel _lonely_. Just don't break into their space."

"I'm not that close to them." Mori protested. "I screwed up."

Ace rolled his eyes. "First of all, it doesn't matter how screwed up you are, or how much of a freak, or whatever. Family's forever. And second of all, you seem pretty close to Yuu. With Holly, even though she doesn't approve of you spending so much time in here, I know that she only does that because she cares. And as for Aiji..." Ace frowned slightly. "Well, we'll deal with Aiji later."

Mori rolled his eyes. "You're going to stay?" He asked hopefully.

"Nah." Ace shook his head. "I'm going to see Whitebeard. Loosing family's got to be tough for everyone, but for Whitebeard..." He trailed off hesitantly, and Mori dipped his head in a nod.

"Are you going to take Aiji with you?" Mori expanded.

Ace nodded. "Is there anyone else that Aiji's really close with?"

Mori shook his head. "Most of those in the crew from his time that were close to him went down in the battle that Aram died in. He's never really been that close to anyone after that," He paused, and added quickly, "...or so I've heard. I don't really know."

"Right." Ace's voice turned brisk as he turned to Aiji. "I'm going to see Whitebeard." He called. "Come with me."

Aiji glanced up at him. "You're not giving me an option?" He asked teasingly.

"Do I need to?"

Aiji seemed almost startled by Ace's reply, before offering him a small smile. "I guess not."

"Good." Ace returned the smile. "Let's go."

0o0o0o0o0

When they found him, Whitebeard was talking with Marco. As they approached, Marco seemed to have come to some sort of a conclusion, as he dipped his head into a nod and murmured something softly, eyebrows drawn together in thought as his fingers tapped his legs with an uncharacteristic nervousness.

But then again, Ace thought, everyone was acting odd today.

"Whitebeard. Marco." Ace waved as they approached.

"Ace." The word seemed hesitant on Marco's tongue, and Marco's hesitant gaze felt oddly troubling. "Aiji. It's nice to see you."

"Nice to see you, too." Aiji replied.

Their words felt odd, like cardboard, but Ace passed it off as a side effect of it being the anniversary of Aram's death. "You have some time for us, Whitebeard?" Ace asked, his voice light in an attempt to stop the mood from turning completely dark.

"Always, son." Whitebeard replied softly. "Marco, would you like to stay?"

Marco shook his head. "I should go tell the others about this." He replied, eyes flickering over to Ace for a second... straying, like he wanted to say something, but he said nothing, and merely offered his goodbyes, before leaving.

Ace hopped onto Whitebeard's knees. "You doing alright, old man?" He asked gently.

"I have my children." Whitebeard rubbed Aiji's head. "What more could I ask for?"

Silence fell, and Aiji asked, "Do you think he regrets it?"

Whitebeard shook his head. "Never."

"Then why are you sad, Oyaji?" Aiji prodded.

Whitebeard stared at Aiji for a while, before countering, "Why are you sad?"

Aiji lifted a shoulder and ducked his head down. "I miss him." He replied.

"Yeah." Whitebeard agreed. "I miss him, too."

For a long time, silence reigned.

Not melancholy... just them drinking in each other's presence. For now, that was enough.

 **A/N:** The last paragraph was a little rushed, and the last sentence... too cheesy, I know... sorry, guys...


	22. Christmas

**FIRST OFF, AN APOLOGY: to my readers who don't celebrate Christmas. Whether because you just don't, or you celebrate Eid, or anything else, I'm sorry for limiting this chapter to only Christmas, and I hope that you don't feel offended or disappointed. I know that Christmas probably seems overrated to those of you who don't celebrate it, but I hope that you can enjoy this chapter all the same. (I tried to add non-holiday bits to make it more enjoyable for you.)**

 **Reply to Anon(Guest):** Thank you! But honestly, I feel like whenever young Ace heard the word high he would have thought of the drug... Also, I'm sorry for making you sad. Thank you very much, though!  
 **Reply to seventycats(Guest):** Aw, thank you! I think that you made my day when I read your review, it was very sweet. I'm really not that great of an author, but I'm glad that I could manage to make you happy with my fics.

* * *

It was only a little after midnight when Thatch woke the crew up to the sound of clanging bells and loud shouting.

Groaning as he buried his head under his pillow, Ace mumbled, "Shut up."

"He's not going to shut up." Aiji's amused reply came as he ripped the blankets off of Ace. "Come on, sleepy head, it's time to start preparing for Christmas."

"It's not Christmas yet." Ace protested weakly.

Aiji raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "It's December."

"The first!" Ace scowled. "It's the _first_ of December. Why can't I sleep?"

Aiji was saved from needing to respond when the door to their cabin burst open and the sound of clanging filled the room. "Come on, it's only 25 days until Christmas!" Thatch exclaimed. "Wake up, guys!"

Ace offered Thatch a muffled groan as his blanket was yanked away. "Why?" He demanded. "We have 25 more days until Christmas! We don't need to start at..." He glanced at the clock, "... _midnight_! I went to sleep two hours ago, Thatch, I need more sleep!"

"You're not getting any." Aiji snickered. "Thatch with Christmas is like a kid with a sugar overload."

"I don't care." Ace insisted. "Just keep your Christmas cheer to yourself."

"Ace, don't be such a Scrooge!" Thatch gasped. "There's a feast ready and waiting for you!"

Ace paused, the edges of his lips twitching slightly. "...feast?" He sighed.

Thatch grinned. "Bacon, eggs, pancakes and tarts, and chicken and squash and just about any food you can imagine."

Ace ran his fingers over the rim of his hat thoughtfully. "Is there a chocolate fountain?" He asked.

Thatch's smile widened, and he replied, "One for each division."

"I'll wake up." Ace decided. "But only for the food."

"Of course." Aiji laughed as he pulled Ace off of the bed. "We wouldn't expect anything else."

* * *

It was about a week later when they landed on the next island.

Frost curled up around the wood of the Moby Dick and snow constantly had to be shoveled off deck. Most of the crew members (save a few brave or foolish souls) refused to leave the warmth of their cabins, and every night the beds were all shoved together in hopes that they could siphon off of each other's body heat.

Thatch, of course, was one of the foolish few who still somehow kept the energy to run around and try to spread Christmas cheer.

Warm glasses of eggnog and steaming sugar cookies were constantly being delivered to the crew members that refused to go to the mess hall for fear of the cold, and ugly Christmas sweaters somehow found their way to everyone's wardrobes.

Some people vowed revenge on Thatch due to the fact that he had forced them to wear the sweaters, but most were warm and didn't care about much else.

It was roughly around this time like this when Ace first heard about Christmas presents.

He was curled up with the usual crew in the library... Marco, Thatch, and the other division commanders were busy in a meeting. Haruta, who had long since deemed the meeting dull and thought her presence to be unnecessary, had decided to intrude and was chattering idly with Holly. Mori, as usual, had his nose stuck in a book, and Aiji was making making small talk with Yuu.

"So, short stock, what are you getting me for Christmas?" Aiji asked teasingly as he idly flipped through the pages of a book. "Not a boring old book, I should hope."

Yuu stuck her tongue out at Aiji. "You'd be lucky not to get your butt whipped at the annual tournament." She replied scornfully. "You are joining, aren't you?"

"Of course." Aiji offered Yuu a roguish grin. "I placed a bet with Holly that I'd beat you."

Yuu glanced over at Holly, who flushed and pretended not to notice. "I bet on you!" Holly called out meekly.

Haruta smirked. "So whipped." She snickered.

"Back to my present." Aiji said before Holly could reply to Haruta. "So, shorty? What am I getting from you this year?"

Ace's eyebrows drew themselves together, "What do you mean?" He asked. "Why would Yuu get you something for Christmas?"

Aiji offered Ace an amused bark of laughter, but it petered out when he realized that Ace was being serious. "You don't... you've never exchanged Christmas gifts?"

Ace's tilted his head to the side. "Why would I do that?" He asked innocently.

"It's, um... it's just a tradition." Aiji replied, fumbling awkwardly with his words.

"It comes from the myth about Persians who traveled across a desert land to give a gift to one born from Heaven." Mori sighed. "It's not that big of a deal. Christmas itself merely stems from the belief that it's the birthday of the son of God, but even if the story were true, the date is highly inaccurate."

Ace chewed thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek. "So, why do _we_ give each other gifts?" He asked.

Aiji frowned, "It just... it shows how much you care about someone, I guess." He mumbled. "It's tradition, you know?"

"Oh." Ace nodded and examined his hands. "Then I suppose I need to go get you guys some presents."

"No, you don't need to!" Aiji exclaimed quickly. "You didn't know, so you have an excuse."

Ace shook his head. "No," He responded stubbornly. "If it shows that I care, then I want to be able to do it."

Haruta giggled. "That's cheesy." She noted.

"I think that it's sweet." Holly added, offering Ace a warm smile. "Thank you, Ace."

Ace shrugged. "What do I get you guys?" He asked.

"It has to be a surprise." Aiji replied.

"Oh." Ace's features fell. "But I don't know what you want."

"Don't worry." Holly patted Ace's head. "I'm sure that you'll come up with something."

Ace offered her a determined smile. "Of course." He agreed. "I'll get you guys the best presents ever!"

* * *

"What do you think about Ace becoming the next 2nd Division Commander?"

It was an idle question, and Whitebeard asked it as casually as though he were talking about the weather.

Thatch froze. "You... is that what this meeting is about?" He asked wearily.

Marco lowered his eyes. "Sorry, Thatch." He whispered, "I know that it seems soon..."

"No..." Thatch offered Marco a weak smile. "It's a good choice. Ace would be great as the commander, it's just that I haven't really thought about..." He swallowed, and shook his head. "Anyways, I think that it sounds great."

Whitebeard rubbed the top of Thatch's head fondly. "Thank you." He whispered, his voice warm. "I'm glad that you're okay with this."

Thatch offered Whitebeard a strained smile. "Why wouldn't I be?" He asked rhetorically.

Speed Jiru smiled. "It's about time that they got a new commander." He agreed. "Ace has brought them together in a way that they haven't for a long time."

"I'm not worried about this right now." Thatch agreed. "Besides, it's Christmas! We can worry about the divisions later."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" He asked.

Thatch closed his eyes, and nodded. "We all knew that this would happen eventually." He replied. "Better now than when we're in battle. Now then... Sugar cookies, anyone? I made some with icing that's shaped like your faces."

And with that, they knew that the second division was going to get a new commander, and Thatch would be perfectly fine with it.

* * *

It wasn't much after that when Ace declared that he wanted to go get everyone Christmas presents.

Whitebeard didn't so much as raise an eyebrow before he handed Ace a bag of coins. "Enjoy yourself." He said, as though he had long since been expecting Ace to request permission.

"Actually..." Ace smiled sheepishly, "I was wondering if I could raid the marine's base for some money."

Whitebeard laughed, and ruffled Ace's hair. "I think that the marines deserve some peace. It is Christmas, after all, and they may be nice people. Not all marines deserve to have a fight picked with them."

Ace frowned. "Alright." He sighed. "But... do you know how I could get in the newspaper?"

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked curiously, leaning back with his hands folded over his chest.

"My little brother..." Ace paused, and clarified, "Luffy. I want to show him that I'm okay, so I've got to get into the newspaper."

Whitebeard offered Ace a crooked smile. "Have you ever considered sending him a letter?" He asked, bemused.

"I don't..." Ace started to shaking his head, before his eyes lit up. "I forgot that I could write." He admitted sheepishly.

Whitebeard laughed and ruffled Ace's hair. "Marco has some paper and quills, if you want to write a letter to him, and if you want to send him a gift, then we have a few ways to get it to him."

Ace's smile warmed. "Thanks, Whitebeard."

Whitebeard offered Ace a wane smile, and replied quietly, "No problem, son."

It was a while before that registered.

When it did, Ace wasn't sure if he should feel worried or ecstatic about the warm feeling in his chest.

* * *

It was exactly midnight when Thatch woke everyone up.

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" He bellowed, skipping around and slamming open doors.

Yuu, who had been sensible enough to not bother trying to catch some sleep before Thatch arrived, was curled up next to the fireplace with a book in her lap and holly berries in her hair. "You heard him, Holly." She nudged the snoring form next to her, her arm having long since gone numb after Holly had fallen asleep on it. "Trying to sleep is futile."

Holly grumbled something unintelligible, and readjusted her ear muffs pointedly.

Aiji sighed. "I tried that last year." He informed Holly as Thatch skipped up beside her and handed her a cup of hot chocolate. "It doesn't work. He bribes you."

"No marshmallows, one teaspoon of ground peppermint." Thatch offered her.

Holly buried her face in Yuu's shoulder. "Lemme sleep." She mumbled. "You wake us up at midnight _every. Single. Day._ Why can't you just let me sleep as a Christmas present?"

Thatch shook his head. "It's Christmas!" He replied, as though saying so explained everything.

"I'm Jewish." Holly lied, sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, there's extra whipped cream in the hot chocolate." Aiji noted coaxingly.

Holly turned, and grabbed the cup. "It's heavenly, Thatch." She admitted unhappily. "Why won't you let me sleep?"

"It's _Christmas!_ " Thatch protested. "You have to wake up early, it's _tradition_!"

"Tradition schmadition, all I want is sleep." Holly muttered, as she took another sip of the hot chocolate. She paused, and frowned slightly at her cup. "This tastes a little bitter. Did you add anything?"

"Maybe Thatch spiked it." Aiji grinned as he punched Ace.

Ace groaned. "Wake me up when the food's ready."

Thatch handed him a plate of eggs, and Ace reluctantly took it with a mutter of, "How did you anticipate that?"

"I'm perfect." Thatch quipped airily. He waited a moment, before turning to Holly and asking cheerfully, "You don't mind if I put some caffeine in that, do you?"

"You did _what?"_ Holly demanded, her hot chocolate spewing out within seconds. "You... you...!" Her lips twisted to the side, but at Thatch's raised eyebrow, she sighed and reluctantly muttered, "No, I'm going to need it to get through today."

"You drugged her drink." Aiji raised an eyebrow, his expression revealing his inner conflict between the need to be furious on Holly's behalf and the desire to be impressed on the behalf of his mischievous dominant side. "After you've already made her mad enough? Are you insane?"

"He's insane." Yuu agreed. "We already know that he's insane. Thatch has always been insane."

Ace eyed his eggs suspiciously. "You didn't put anything in these, did you?" He asked.

"Some salt, nutmeg, and milk." Thatch replied. "Just for a little Christmas taste."

Ace took a cautious bite, but seemed to deem it satisfactory enough to swallow whole.

"Did you even chew that?" Yuu asked, a mixture of amazement and utter disgust twisting her features.

Ace's features froze, and he mumbled, "...Yes." Around a mouthful of egg.

"Close your mouth, that's gross." Holly mumbled.

"No." Ace stuck out his tongue.

"It's Christmas." Holly protested. "Do as I say!"

Aiji, seeming to have come to a realization, grinned as he noted, "Ace... it's _Christmas._ "

"Yeah..." Ace's brow furrowed in confusion, before his features smoothed out and a bright smile lit them up. "Oh, guys, you've got to see the presents I got you!"

Holly grinned. "He got us presents, how cute."

"Mines is the best one, right?" Thatch needed to know.

"No, it's mines." Aiji rolled his eyes. "Ace, mine's is the best, right?"

Ace flushed, "They're equal."

"Did I get a book?" Yuu asked, her voice resigned.

Ace blinked in surprise, and responded uncertainly, "No, I got you a sword... did you want a book? If you want a book, I can get you a book. I mean, I don't really know books. Does it matter what book I get you?"

Yuu's eyes widened. "Why did you get me a sword?" She asked curiously as Ace handed her the parcel.

"Um, I thought..." Ace frowned at the parcel in his hands, and muttered, "I thought that you used a sword... Holly said that your current one had gotten rusty, so I thought..." He floundered awkwardly for a moment, before asking weakly, "Do you use a sword?"

Yuu offered Ace a warm smile. "Yes, I use a sword." She replied as she accepted the parcel. She unwrapped it, the smile on her face widening as she pulled out the sword, running a finger over the blade to test it. "It's beautiful."

Aiji looped an arm over Ace's shoulders and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, what do I get?"

Ace handed Aiji a notebook.

Aiji's nose wrinkled. "What's _this_?" He demanded, eyeing it suspiciously.

"It's a book of blueprints." Ace replied, flipping the pages open to show Aiji. "Because you're always stealing Holly's stuff and drawing plans on them."

Aiji shrugged, "I'll accept it." He scoffed, but at Ace's raised eyebrow, he admitted, "It's pretty cool. Thanks, Ace."

Ace beamed proudly. "No problem." He replied.

"My turn." Holly yawned. "It had better be something cool, or I'm going to hold your present hostage."

Ace offered her a hesitant smile, unsure of whether or not she was being serious. "I got you a watercolor set." He said, handing her a box and a few paintbrushes. "Because we're on a ship, we've always got water, and you never really seem to paint, so..."

Holly examined the paint, running a finger over it and rubbing her thumb against her palm to test out the powdery paint. "Cool."

"What about me?" Thatch asked eagerly. "What do I get?"

Ace tossed Thatch a scrapbook and a camera. "You're cheesy." He sighed. "I think that you'd like this."

Thatch fumbled slightly with his presents, before flipping open the scrapbook. A bright page full of scribbles and pictures and photographs peered back at him. "I think that you're right." He agreed, a satisfied smile spreading over his lips.

"Of course I'm right." Ace agreed, and held up his empty plate, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have any more food?"

* * *

It was nearly midnight when the impromptu (but traditional) Christmas party began to wind down.

Ace found his way to Whitebeard by then, and handed him a small parcel. "I didn't know what to get you." He admitted, his head bowed in embarrassment. "So I settled for something that I thought you might like. I don't know if you'll like it, though. You might not. I mean..."

"I love it." Whitebeard ruffled Ace's hair, and handed him a neatly wrapped gift. "Here's your present. Now run along and try to get drunk."

Ace's nose wrinkled. "I hate alcohol." He replied.

"Then go get some punch." Whitebeard replied. "It's a party, you don't want to spend it with an old man like me."

"You just want to get drunk without any witnesses." Ace teased Whitebeard.

"Maybe." Whitebeard agreed. "Run along, child, and leave me be."

Ace climbed on top of Whitebeard's lap, and wrapped his arms loosely around the old man's withered neck. "I can't call you Oyaji yet." He admitted, his face buried in his captain's shoulder. "But you're the closest thing that I've ever had to a father. I want to call you that, I just... I have some bad memories associated with that name." He pulled away, and offered Whitebeard a quick peck to the cheek. "Love you, Whitebeard."

Whitebeard offered Ace a fond smile, and patted his back gently in response. "I love you too, son." He replied.

It wasn't until Ace had left that Whitebeard found himself pulling a black bandanna from the package, along with a note of, _For when your hair starts falling out. I'll tell you the story behind it if you ask me. Love you, old man._

Ace had just left when he pulled out the red, beaded necklace. _One for each precious memory._ Whitebeard told him with a chuckle. _We'll add more each day._

 _Stupid._ Ace thought fondly. _If I had one for each precious memory, even the world couldn't hold it all._

 **A/N:** Phew! Finally done this chapter. (Hehe.) Happy Holidays, guys! (Or not happy. If not happy, tell me what I can do to try and make you happy.) In case you haven't realized, Whitebeard's black bandanna from Ace is the one that he wears in cannon, and vice versa for Ace's necklace (when he waves goodbye to Luffy it's not there, but at his execution it is, implying that it must be from his time with the WBP, so...) I'm sorry if you were disappointed by that as a gift choice, I understand that my ending was rushed, but I sort of finished this last minute... sorry.


	23. Oyaji

**A/N:** I know, I didn't write a chapter for Ace's birthday... sorry about that, but there was a lot of stuff going on, and... yeah. I'll try to get one up later, though, maybe just not on January 1st...

It was a few days later when Marco stumbled upon Ace peering at himself in a mirror and muttering, " _Oyaji._ " over and over.

Marco crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing?" He asked, unsure whether Ace was acting cute, or disturbing.

Ace turned to peer at Marco, instantly turning bright red as he mumbled, "...Nothing."

"The day I believed that, I would also believe that Thatch wasn't the one who dipped by shirts in chocolate last week."

Ace flushed, "That could have been Haruta!" He argued.

Marco arched an eyebrow. "She always leaves her signature at the scene of the crime. Finds some sort of pride in it, I guess. Besides, the chocolate was delicious. If it had been Haruta, Thatch would be all over her for stealing chocolate from the kitchens." At Ace's relieved expression, he continued, "But you're avoiding the subject. What were you doing?"

Ace lowered his head, the tips of his feet idly scuffing a loose nail. "...I can't do it." He finally admitted, his voice barely a low mumble as he shoved his hands into his pockets, a defeated expression crossing his features.

Marco tilted his head to the side. "Do what?" he asked curiously.

"...Whitebeard..." Ace twisted his lips to the side and peered nervously at Marco. "I can't call him Oyaji."

Marco blinked, the situation having felt extremely anti-climatic. "That's not a big deal." He replied, smiling slightly at Ace's nervous expression. "You can say it when you're ready to."

"That's just it!" Ace exclaimed, his head snapping up, wide eyes meeting Marco's. "I've been _trying_ to do it, I _want_ to do it, it's just that every time that I even think of saying that word..." His voice died away, and he bowed his head again, his fingers idly playing with a loose string dangling from his hat, sliding the beads on it back and forth. "I can't do it." He repeated, his voice harsh with self loathing.

Marco stepped over to Ace, making his way in a few short strides, before crouching down and tilting his head up so that he could meet Ace's eyes. Ace's features were hard to make out, the shadow of his hat blocking most of them, a long shadow carving his cheeks. "That's okay." Marco smiled. It was almost... cute, how Ace was so worried over such a little thing. "It's just a word, Ace."

"It's not, though." Ace shook his head, like he was trying to get water out of his ears. "It's more than just a word... it's... it's what Whitebeard is. He's family, he's more than just my captain..." He pursed his lips together, at loss for how to properly explain it. "He's _more_."

"Then tell him that." Marco replied. "You don't need to call him Oyaji to let him know what he is."

"I know." Ace agreed. "I just... it feels wrong not to call him that."

Marco tilted his head to the side, and offered a curious, "But...?"

"But I can't." Ace glowered at the ground. "Whenever I say that word, I think of _him_ , and..." His shoulders pushed up against his chin, brushing aside stray bits of hair. "...And then I think that they're different."

Marco grabbed Ace's hand and pulled him towards a chair, knocking over a book as he pulled Ace onto the chair and hopped onto the dresser, carefully avoiding leaning on the mirror. "What was he like?" He asked quietly. "Your father, I mean."

A conflicted expression crossed Ace's features, before he replied, "I don't know. I never met him, so I wouldn't know. Maybe... maybe he was a good man." He clasped his hands together. "But I grew up hating him because everyone else did."

Marco eyed Ace cautiously. "Do you still hate him?"

"I don't know." Ace sounded frustrated, confusion hardening his voice. "I don't want to, but everyone told me that he was a killer, that he destroyed people's lives, that he was no good, and any son of his was no good too, and I wanted to hate him for being that, but now I don't know and..." His voice cracked, and he let out a grow of frustration, before turning away. " _I don't know_."

"I see." Marco hopped off of his spot on the dresser, and stepped over to Ace. "I suppose the real question is, do you think of him as your father?"

Ace shook his head. "I never knew him, so I can't think of him as family."

"Then is he what's holding you back?" Marco asked quietly. "Or are you scared of letting Oyaji become something that you've always thought was awful?"

Ace bit his lower lip, and then replied, "Oyaji's always been a word that I hated. I just don't want to give Whitebeard something as... as tainted as that."

"Do you think it will be tainted if you called him that?" Marco asked.

Ace opened his hands, regarding them curiously, before shaking his head, and replying, "No. He's too important for that."

The edge's of Marco's lips quirked up into a fond smile. "Then it's up to you what you should do next, isn't it?"

Ace raised his head, and dipped it into a nod. "Yeah." He agreed. "Yeah, it is."

And he knew exactly what to do.

* * *

Panic.

Ace had assumed that he would go to Whitebeard, talk to him, and it would all be okay.

But now that he was actually in front of Whitebeard, and he was looking at him with that expectant expression, Ace found his words stuck in his throat and refusing to come out.

"Is there anything going on, son?" Whitebeard asked, his voice a strange mix between concerned and amused.

"Um..." Ace flushed when no words managed to come out, and the first thing that came to mind was, "I can't do it!"

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, a slight smile tugging at the edge of his lips. "Can't do what?" He asked as he pulled Ace onto his lap.

Ace squirmed slightly, feeling oddly like a young child. "I... I can't call you Oyaji." He mumbled, embarrassed at how childish his dilemma seemed.

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow. "I see." He replied, though the amusement lining his voice revealed that he didn't think it to be that big of a deal. "Is that a bad thing?"

Ace's eyebrows drew themselves together. "Isn't it?"

"Why should it be?" Whitebeard asked, "It's just a word."

Ace nodded. "Oyaji." He mumbled.

Whitebeard smiled slightly. "It's more than just a word to you, isn't it?" He asked knowingly.

Ace shrugged, embarrassment flooding his features.

"It's alright if you don't want to call me that." Whitebeard reassured Ace.

"I want to." Ace muttered. "I just don't want to think of you the same way that I used to think of _him_."

Oyaji offered Ace a faint smile. "I'll never replace whoever it is that you're thinking of, but remember that we're all children of the sea. It doesn't matter who you call your father, I'd always be proud to call you son."

"Yeah..." Ace nodded, and then hopped off of Oyaji's lap. "Thanks! Love you, Oyaji."

He raced off, face burning.

He didn't notice the proud smile on Oyaji's features as he ran away.

* * *

"He called me Oyaji!" Oyaji shouted excitedly as he picked Marco and spun him around. "Did you _hear_ that, Marco? He called me _Oyaji_! _Ace_! Ace called me Oyaji!"

"Yes, he did." Marco agreed, an amused smile pulling up the edges of his lips as Oyaji put him back on the ground.

"He did, didn't he?" Oyaji beamed proudly.

Marco hopped onto Oyaji's chair as pressed his hands in his lap. "You're never going to stop doing this, are you?" He asked fondly.

"Never." Oyaji agreed happily. "He considers me family!"

"He's _always_ considered you family." Marco replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I know..." Oyaji nodded, "Sorry, Marco. I know that I get like this every time that someone calls me Oyaji, but..."

"You're excited, I know." Marco agreed, a fond smile finding it's way to his lips.

"Yeah." Oyaji agreed, "He called me Oyaji!"

 **A/N:** Sorry guys, I know that this chapter is short, but I couldn't really find any other way to make it longer. Kind of filler-ish, but I thought that it was needed for the plot, and a lot of you requested it, so, I hope that you liked it?


	24. 2nd Division Commander

**Response a Seys (Guest):** Merci! (Desole, mais je ne parle pas beaucoup de francais.) Moi aussi, je pense que Ace est trop mignon!  
 **Reply to Guest:** Thanks! (I know! I have this little headcannon where he does this with _everyone_... every since he first raised Marco, and ever since, Marco has just been there to listen to him squeal about it.)  
 **Reply to Guest:** Thank you for saying that it was wonderful.

It's much, much later when they finally come back to the topic of the 2nd Division Commander.

"He's young." Vista said carefully, not doubting Ace's skill but still thoughtful. "His judgement may be a little immature."

"He's around my age." Haruta argued as she pressed a hand against Thatch's and lifted herself into a handstand. "Besides, Ace has long since become a leader figure in the second division."

"It's true." Thatch agreed, bending his arm slightly. "Haruta, have you been eating enough? You're crazy light."

"Of course I'm light." Haruta rolled her eyes. "I'm short. Anyways, Ace is a great candidate, and I know that I'd like for the second division to finally come together a bit more."

"He's still a kid, though." Izo sighed, brushing some makeup onto his cheeks as he held up a small mirror. "Is it fair to burden him with such responsibility?"

"It's not a burden." Marco replied, "It's an honor to be a commander."

"I know that." Izo agreed as he set down his mirror and brush. "But Ace is still a child. Will he really be willing to bear with all that comes with the job?"

"Not to mention the danger that comes with it." Jozu agreed, "Many much stronger than him have died doing their duty. Are we going to risk that when he's still young and impulsive? If he dies because we let him..."

"We'll never let a brother die." Jiru snapped, fingers curling up into fists. "Young as he is, Ace was strong enough to survive 100 days of Oyaji's self defense, and he is almost as strong as most of us."

"Is it decided, then?" Vista asked, raising an eyebrow.

Whitebeard chuckled, standing up. "Not yet." He replied, putting his chin in his hands. "Don't we also need to ask Ace himself?"

* * *

"No,"

Ace didn't bother looking up from his pile of food as Thatch and Marco approached, cheeks still full of spaghetti as he pointed his fork at them in what would have been a threatening manner, had he not looked like a chipmunk.

"We haven't even said anything yet!" Thatch protested, the picture of guilt as he pressed two hands against his chest.

"You're going to say something that will take me away from my food." Ace glowered at Marco, "And I'll bet it has something to do with responsibility."

Marco eyed the pile of plates stacked high next to Ace, cautiously taking in the wobbling stack as he attempted to catch sight of the top. (He couldn't find it.) "It's not necessarily going to take you away from your food..." He replied wryly, brushing a stray piece of hair from his face. "Just let us talk, alright?"

"No," Ace repeated, shaking his head vehemently. "I haven't even started eating dessert yet!"

"I'll make you a strawberry cheesecake later." Thatch promised, "With ten layers."

"That..." Ace licked his lips, an excited smile pulling at the edges of his lips as he asked with childish cheer, "Ten whole layers?"

"Ten whole layers." Thatch grinned as he leaned back, fingers tucked behind his head as he lazily stuck out a hand. "So...?"

Ace sighed, standing up from his meal as he quickly shoved the rest of the spaghetti into his mouth. "Fine," He swiped quickly at the sauce on his mouth, idly wiping it onto his pants as he started walking. "What are we talking about?"

"How did you know that we were taking you?" Thatch demanded as he skipped towards Ace.

Ace rolled his eyes as Marco walked up to them, long strides seeming casual as he stepped closer. "If you wanted to talk about something dumb, you would've just kept talking while I was eating. But you want me to pay attention." His nose wrinkled in distaste, as though the thought of concentrating solely on one thing (other than food, of course) was a horrible thing. (Actually, to Ace, it probably was.) "So it'll be something that I don't like."

"It won't be." Thatch promised.

"Probably," Marco agreed, ever the cautious one.

Thatch glared at Marco, "It's a compliment." He exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air with a dramatic toss of his head. "You'll _love_ this!"

"It's supposed to be a compliment," Marco agreed, shooting Thatch an exasperated look. "But we completely understand if you don't want to do us this favor."

Ace's features twisted in confusion, and he slowed his pace once they reached the deck. "What is it?" He finally asked, head tilted to the side, eyebrows raised. (It was uncanny, really, how he seemed so much like Marco in that one moment... or at least it would be, if it weren't for the fact that Ace's fingers were tapping nervously against his leg like a drum.)

Marco started professionally, words slow but serious, "Well, since you've been taking a leadership role in the 2nd Division lately, and seeing as how you're..."

"Totally awesome as a younger brother," Thatch cut in, predicting (correctly) that Marco was going to be around the bush, and too impatient to wait. "We want you to be the second division commander!"

Ace froze at that, features perfectly blank as his fingers stilled, no longer tapping against his leg.

Marco wheeled around to Thatch, eyebrows drawn together in irritation. "You _broke_ him!" He snapped, poking Thatch's chest. "I _told_ you to be patient!"

Thatch shrugged, unrepentant, and replied dubiously, "Like you were ever going to stop stalling."

"At least I didn't _break him_." Marco replied, almost sulkily as he crossed his arms. "What do we do _now_?"

"I'm still here, you know." Ace's voice cut in, seeming to have been brought out of his stupor. "I, um, I need to think about this."

Thatch and Marco turned to stare at him, both wearing an expression that seemed to think that Ace had grown a second head. (Actually, Thatch thought, this was _way_ weirder than that.) "Yeah, of course." Marco finally answered, voice holding a bit of awe.

"Right." Ace nodded, sounding a bit nervous. "I'll, uh, be in my room."

"Yeah, totally." Thatch agreed, voice echoing Ace's nervous tone as he beamed nervously, fingers crossing behind his back hopefully.

As he walked away, still stunned, Ace could hear Thatch demand, "He's thinking, that's good, right?"

He would have laughed if he had heard Marco's answer of, "It's Ace, he's _thinking_ , that's almost as weird as _you_ using your brain! This is serious!"

He needed a laugh right now, Ace thought, stomach churning.

 _This is crazy._

* * *

This was crazy.

And weird.

Crazy-weird.

Ace hadn't come out of his room in the past three days, only giving them a half coherent answer even when Thatch had finally finished his ten layer strawberry cheesecake.

"Ace?" Swinging upside down from his spot on the upper part of the bunk bed, Aiji made a futile attempt to keep his hair from touching Ace's foot. "Are you doing okay?"

"Fine." Ace replied shortly, eyes not lifting from his hat.

"Right," Mori agreed sarcastically (they had pulled him out after the second day in an attempt to shock Ace into revival), "Because moping and staring at your hat for the past three days is 'fine'."

Ace made a halfhearted sound that might have been a protest, but also may have been a sound of agreement.

Yuu exchanged looks with Holly, "Ace, Marco said that they asked you to be commander?"

Ace's features froze at that, a mixture between deer-in-the-headlights and thinking-about-the-meaning-of-life. "Well, uh..." He flushed, quickly pulling his hat back over his head and lowered it over his eyes. "I dunno."

" _Dude_ , you've got to do it!" Aiji exclaimed, flipping down from his spot on the bed and landing squarely on Ace's shins. " _Ow._ Anywho, why are you so sulky if they asked you to be the commander?"

"I just..." Ace lifted his shoulders in a halfhearted shrug, and replied quietly, "I just... I don't know."

"You don't know." Aiji rolled his eyes, "You've been granted the opportunity of a _lifetime_ , Ace! You're going to turn it down?"

Ace lowered his eyes, refusing to look at any of them, fingers still tight on the edge of his hat.

"Oh, you might turn it down." Aiji sighed as he pulled himself off of Ace's shins, one leg swinging over the edge of the bed before he half-stumbled, half-fell the rest of the way. "That's alright, Ace. I'll respect that, as a friend. But as a friend, also, I can tell that you want to do this." He jumped onto the edge of Ace's bed, falling back so that his head rested on Ace's lap. Aiji raised an eyebrow, "If you're going through all that lame angsty 'I'm-not-worthy' junk, I'll punch you to the third moon."

"But what if I'm really _not_ worthy?" Ace asked quietly, voice so low that Aiji could just barely hear him.

"You are." Aiji replied firmly, tugging lightly at Ace's arm. "So shut up and realize that you're worth something already."

Ace remained silent, but they could spot the ghost of a smile tugging at the edges of his lips.

"It's not about what we want," Yuu agreed as she sat down next to Aiji. "It's about you, and what you want. And whatever you choose for your life, we'll stand by you. But if this is something that you want, and you're holding yourself back because you think that you're not good enough..." She glanced at Aiji, and he offered her a bright smile. "Then we're not going to forgive you for downgrading someone that we hold important."

Ace offered Yuu a pale smile. "Thanks," He nodded, "I'll... I'll figure it out by tomorrow."

"Great," Mori pulled Aiji off of Ace's lap. "Now that you're feeling less hormonal, can we go get some food?"

Ace laughed, "I'm hungry!" He agreed cheerfully as he jumped off of the bed.

Maybe it was crazy.

Maybe it was weird.

But he had his family, so he figured that it'd all be okay.

 **A/N:** Ahaha... I have no excuse. I, um, other fandoms, life, well, yeah. But plot? And stuff? Does that make up for it?


	25. Truth

**Reply to Guest:** Thanks! It's good to know that at least one person liked the second division being there for Ace.

God, this was so much harder than he'd thought it would be.

 _I'm going to tell him._

His legs refused to move.

 _I've got to tell him._

His tongue felt dry and heavy in his mouth.

 _Go tell him, Ace._

His heart was pounding.

 _I can't do this._

Was it selfish to want to keep this bit of warmth close to chest? To want to stay in this paradise for just a little bit longer? To want more than just...

Ace ducked his head down, making a futile to even out his breathing as he stared blankly at the floor.

 _This is so dumb._

The thought didn't do much to help the way that his chest was rapidly tightening.

"Ace?" Oyaji stepped up to him, pressing a huge hand to his back, kneeling down so that his eyes could meet Ace's. "If you don't want to accept the position, that's completely understandable, and we'll be okay with this."

Ace shook his head, his breath catching in his throat as the strap of his hat slid against his chin. "I..." It was really hard to concentrate past the haze of... _everything_ blurring his vision.

Oyaji seemed concerned, his hands still firm and _warm_ against Ace's back, eyes soft, expression patient. "How about we take you somewhere to sit down?"

"That..." Ace wished that the ground could just swallow him up and take him far, far away. "I have something important to tell you."

Oyaji nodded, slowly guiding Ace to a seat. He pushed Ace down gently, and stayed crouched as he asked, "What did you want to tell me?"

Ace wished that he didn't have to talk. Wished that he hadn't made this dumb decision to come and tell Oyaji everything. He raised his hands to grip the brim of his hat, Luffy's face flashing in his mind as he asked quietly, "We're family, right?"

Surprise flickered over Oyaji's features before they fell into something sad and he squeezed Ace's shoulder, murmuring a soft, "Of course. No matter what."

 _No matter what?_

"Why don't you first tell me why you're feeling so worried?" Oyaji prompted him, voice perfectly even despite the worry evident on his face.

Ace shook his head, biting his tongue, before regretting his previous decision, and whispering, "I want to stay here forever."

"Then stay." Oyaji's hand faltered for a moment, his voice hesitant. "Ace, do you want me to give you some time? Do you want me to stay?"

"Stay." Ace lowered both hands, his tongue still heavy as he forced the words out. "My dad's Gol D. Roger."

Oyaji seemed surprised, starting for a moment, and Ace barely had time to think _this is it he must never have thought of this he hates me now of course he does I'm the son of his enemy I'm the worst he'll never let me stay now_ and then Oyaji laughed, a soft sound of amusement. "Is that all?" He asked, voice still filled with warmth. "And here I was thinking that you had some big secret!"

Shock rippled through Ace, before he allowed a small smile of relief to take over his features. "You were enemies, though."

"Are you secretly Roger?" Oyaji asked teasingly, still chuckling. "Ace, you're my son, and I'll always love you, no matter what. You have no reason to be afraid of my rejection." He pulled his hand away from Ace's back and held it out.

Ace pressed his hand into Oyaji's running his fingers over Oyaji's callouses. "Is it still okay to be the second division commander?" He asked hesitantly.

At that, Oyaji's features split into a bright grin. "Would you do me the honor?"

And to Ace's surprise, a laugh ripped it's way out of his throat. "Thank you." He whispered.

Oyaji raised an eyebrow in faux innocence. "For what?"

 _For everything._

 **A/N:** Hi guys. Sorry, it's been a while, hasn't it? And this chapter is super short, too. Oops. For anyone interested in why: writing has always been my coping strategy. And lately, I hadn't needed much of one. But now, again, here I am. I'll try to write more, 'kay?


	26. Epilogue

**A/N:** Uuuugh. I hated writing this. I didn't want to write this. But you guys deserve it, so, here you go.

* * *

 _Thank you for loving me._

Oyaji would slap him uptop and laugh that he didn't need to thank them.

(But he really is grateful, and Ace thinks that if he's going to die, he at least wants them to know that he feels that way.)

He expects to be in pain.

(He's not, though.)

He expects to regret something.

(But he has none.)

He expected death to be... he doesn't quite know. More dramatic, maybe?

(It's dramatic enough, with everyone gaping like that, but he's just kind of at peace.)

He's spent so much of his life thinking he should be dead.

(Funny how, now that he's dying, he thinks he still wants to live.)

He's lived his whole life lying.

 _Thank you for loving me._

(He can't quite remember the last time he lied.)

(Okay, fine, yeah, he can. Troublesome Tuesday, where he dyed every last plank of wood a glow in the dark bright purple, and then switched their flag with a sparkly pink banner. Then he said that Thatch had done it.)

(But that's totally not the point.)

(The point is, he's dying.)

(And he's okay with that.)

* * *

Whitebeard's lost sons before.

He's lived so long, half of him just yearns to look at Ace's death and to have been numbed to this.

(He could never be numb to this, though.)

"He's Gol D. Roger's son."

(" _You're_ my _son._ ")

He wants to be proud of the way that Ace dies, proud of how he saves his brother, saves someone important to him.

(Maybe it's selfish, but all he wants is for Ace to be alive.)

He cracks the air itself, fury burning and heart hardening.

(He just wants to make a crack in time, to see Ace smile at him one more time.)

 _This is war._

(He hates war, because war means death, and death is a loss, even if he "wins".)

Ace, that idiot son of his, dies with a smile on his lips.

(He's happy, that should be enough, but Whitebeard's greedy and he wants more time with his son.)

"Thank you for loving me."

( _Thank you for letting me love you._ )

* * *

Ace is dying.

And Marco is _not_ okay with that.

He wants to scream, to shout, to say _something_.

(It's not that he didn't know Ace would die early. They were pirates. They never really lived to die of old age. Something like that... it wasn't for people like them, with the sea in their eyes and the stars in their blood. He just...)

He never really _anticipated_ death.

(Perhaps foolishly, he wanted to just cling to those moments of peace and laughter and pretend that those moments would be eternal.)

He doesn't remember much of the battle after Ace dies, after Oyaji dies.

He remembers his chest beating, heart thumping and rattling in his ribcage, remembers that frozen moment where he stares, thinks, _nononono, this isn't happening..._ Vaguely remembers snarling something, remembers transforming, rushing, the sound of wind in his ears and roars in the wind.

Remembers blood and sweat and tears and a hollow little hole in his chest as he stands over the two graves, thinking that it's not enough, that _nothing_ will ever quite be enough, never again.

 _You're the first division commander, Marco._ He thinks, hollow and blank and defeated despite the voice in his chest screaming _no_.

 _You've got to do something._ Do what? What's the point in doing when his family's already broken?

 _Two people._

Oyaji and Ace.

 _Hundreds of people._

Bodies strewn across the battle field like grass on a field.

 _Why should only those two matter?_

Maybe it's selfish.

 _Because those were two that I loved._

His chest tightens.

(Maybe he's crying.)

 _They're dead_.

* * *

There's a burning, fiery _need_ in Aiji when he goes to the war, to stop this nonsense, this insanity, and go back to the time of peace.

(Is it selfish, to want to go back to laughing and pretend that nothing is wrong with the world?)

He laughs and fights and there's adrenaline pumping through him as he swings at a marine and knocks the legs out from under another.

(The adrenaline fades when Ace is _gone_ , like dandelion fluff in the wind, which feels _wrong_.)

The world stops when Ace dies.

(His world stops when Ace dies.)

There's a burning, fiery _need_ in Aiji to stop this war.

(But he can't turn back time.)

He wishes this were all a dream.

(But there's the smell of blood in the air and copper on his tongue.)

Ace is dead. Oyaji is dead.

(But he's still alive.)

His commander is gone.

(The second division has led itself for so long, can't they do it again?)

(No way.)

(Not after Ace had led them.)

(He was their commander.)

(Nothing would change that.)

So he fights.

(He hates fighting.)

* * *

They're calling it the Battle of the Best.

Yuu wouldn't know, she wasn't allowed to go.

So, instead of running into the battle, sword drawn and voice shrill, she's sitting at a bar, desperately hoping as she downs another shot.

(She wishes she were there.)

She wonders if there would have been a difference if she were there.

(No way, she thinks, it would have gone down the same way.)

And there's Ace, a gaping hole in his chest, and people are cheering, and it's all Yuu can do not to pull out her sword (the sword that Ace gave her) and swing it at them and _scream_.

Maybe she's crying.

(What do I do now?)

 **THE END**

 **A/N:** Was this okay? Did I do it justice?


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